We previously discussed the controversy over the shooting of a homeless man called “Africa” by the Los Angeles Police Department. It turns out that the man’s real name (well, the name he was using) was Charley Saturmin Robinet and he had a rather strange and violent past.
Police say that Robinet grabbed for one of their guns and refused to yield to their orders to drop the gun. It appears that at least one taser was used before the officers opened fire.
It turns out the the 30-year-old went by either “Africa” or “Cameroon” but was using the stolen name of a Frenchman that he used to get a passport to the United States. He came looking for an acting career in the late 1990s and took classes at the respected Beverly Hill Playhouse where George Clooney and Alex Baldwin attended. However, he could not afford the tuition and was later arrested for holding up a bank outside of Los Angeles. In the crime, he beat and pistol-whipped a teller. He was ultimately arrested after a car chase and he refused to plead guilty against the advice of his lawyer and was sentenced to 15 years. He was released in May 2014 and was shot dead less than a year later in the fight with police.
There is a real Robinet still living in France. What is interesting is that there was an initial effort to deport him but France said that he was not the real Robinet. There is no indication that the government proceeded with the deportation after that even though he clearly came from France. US immigration officials said he was called “Keunang” and was from Cameroon. Now here is the amazing thing. When Cameroon authorities did not respond to inquiries, he was let go despite being a violent illegal immigrant under controlling case law and regulations.
Obviously, this record does not mean that the shooting was justified. There still remains the question of whether he was holding a gun at the time of the shooting for example. There have been protests at the scene of the shooting and police are still reportedly investigating the matter though the initial comments of police officials appeared to support the account of the officers and use of lethal force.
Source: Telegraph
Why doesn’t Turley post about Petraeus, his near treason with Paula, and his ‘elite white privilege’ joke of a wrist slap?
“With Violent and Criminal History…”
Sounds like one named General Petraeus. But why would this blog talk about him, right? All the killing he commanded in the Middle East was legal: he had a uniform on. He was trained at our elite institutions: he did a good job no matter what the practical outcomes.
Or what about he broke the law. That rule of law. It’s important to impose to the maximum on some. But not us civilized and elite. We were just doing our jobs, and brilliant men sometimes commit heinous acts, but why talk about our crimes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbOtyWTRZ_g
Jim Carrey at his finest.
I have a feeling the mystery regarding his true identity will soon be solved once the relatives from his homeland get wind of this story. Nothing brings out family like a potential lawsuit.
Karen
Back to the lack of training. How do five officers screw this up so badly. If the guy did indeed get the gun, how does an officer allow this? These cops are inept.
davidm
It seems that we are in agreement on this. I find it extremely hard to believe that five officers could not subdue this guy with their batons, ten arms, etc. If they get a pass on this, it will only get worse.
This is the person that President Obama’s amnesty was set up to protect. Expect much more of the same in a community near you.
Tasing only works if the person is sober or sane. It is not effective if they are impaired or insane. It appears from the video that he was swinging a pipe early on and it is hard to tell if he actually got a gun or not.
Thanks, Wally. I’m sure no one here realized that factoid about American history. This issue is so much clearer now. We should all just go about our lives and let anyone come into this country unquestioned to do as they please and with unlimited taxpayer support, because the world we live in now is so much like the 1600’s.
“LAPD shooting of homeless man: First big test for bodycams?”
http://www.cnet.com/news/lapd-shooting-of-homeless-man-the-first-big-test-for-bodycams/
“Now here is the amazing thing. When Cameroon authorities did not respond to inquiries, he was let go despite being a violent illegal immigrant under controlling case law and regulations.”
This is only amazing to those who don’t live in border states like CA. The LAPD do not turn people over to ICE, and the feds won’t uphold our immigration laws. Look how they attacked Arizona when they tried to uphold federal law.
Plenty of crimes are committed in CA by repeat, violent, illegal aliens who shouldn’t be here in the first place, and who should have been deported the first time they were caught.
It is really a slap in the face to all those who follow immigration law, use their actual names and IDs, go through background checks on their real names, don’t steal SSNs, etc. Why do they bother?
Interesting??
Not all people get posh positions in life JT. The vast majority of people actually have “interesting” lives. What’s the back story on the people who actually did the killing???
Tracie:
“Why wasn’t the tasing enough for the cops to be able to arrest this man.” Because he was insane? On drugs? I don’t know. How would they know if he was armed before they searched him?
I am quite familiar with the homeless problem in SoCal. They congregate here because of our mild weather. There were homeless people with oozing sores, probably from meth, at the parking lot by where I used to work. My husband had to call the cops often because homeless were sleeping in back of the work trucks at night, in an industrial area, leaving needles, condoms, etc. One even set up a couch by the street and set up an “open air brothel.” He had to literally remove the hose bib from the wall because they were defecating in the parking lot and cleaning their bottoms with the hose bib, smearing it with feces. He had representatives from homeless shelters come and talk to them multiple times, but they weren’t interested. It became a serious health and safety issue, and he had to walk the secretaries to their cars at night. So he finally gave up on trying to ask them to leave nicely and started calling the cops.
The homeless are the most vulnerable to crime, because they prey on each other, and rape is rampant. There are problems with shelters because there are safety issues there. And many just don’t want to go there if they won’t be allowed to do drugs. And if they are allowed to do drugs, then it’s not safe for children. It’s a mess.
In short, the cops get called on the homeless here ALL THE TIME.