"The real Charley Robinet is in France apparently living a totally normal life and totally unaware his identity had been stolen years and years ago," French Consular officer in Los Angeles, Cruau said.
Using that name, the man was identified as a French National in 2000 when he was convicted of robbing a Wells Fargo local Bank. He was also accused of Pistol-whipping an employee in an effort to pay for acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
…
That arrest spurred the consulate to provide the man with support, but as he was nearing his release from prison in 2013, officials found another Robinet in France with the same birthdate and discovered the one in the U.S. was an impostor, Cruau said.
It was not clear if the man's true nationality was yet known.
While in federal prison in Rochester, Minnesota, the bank robber known as Robinet was assigned to the mental health unit, and federal officials said medical staff determined he had "a mental disease or defect" that required treatment in a psychiatric hospital, documents show.
Under the terms of the man's release, he was required to provide reports to his probation officer each month, Deputy U.S. Marshal Matthew Cordova said. When he failed to do so in November, December and January, a federal warrant was issued Jan. 9.
U.S. probation officials did not respond to repeated requests for comment Tuesday, and it was unclear what efforts they made to find the man.
Leaders at Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row said he had been living on the sidewalk outside their shelter for six to eight months.
Though multiple videos and two officer-worn cameras captured the shooting, exactly what happened is unclear.
Video showed the homeless man reaching toward a rookie officer's waistband, police Chief Charlie Beck said. The officer's gun was later found partly cocked and jammed with a round of ammunition in the chamber and another in the ejection port, indicating a struggle for the weapon, the chief said.
Beck said the officers had arrived to investigate a robbery report and the man refused to obey their commands and became combative.
The four officers are on paid leave, which is customary in such shootings.
___
Associated Press
32 Comments
- Am not happy about this story. Yes, he has committed crimes. Very bad crimes, but he is a Cameroonian. ThingsThings are not easy. What did cameroonians living there do to help him. Its very sad. I cant count how many times I have helped eastern Europeans on the streets of London. Please lets help each other. I can assure u people that he didn't choose to commit crimes, but hard life pushed him to.
- his own country refuse to take him. can u imagine. Very sad
- No documents were to prove his nationality. Any body can say he is from Cameroon, but what will prove that ? His birth certificate. First he said he is French nationality and later the French consulate realized it was not true. We should forget our lies telling back home. Now look at what had happened?
- Does he look French to you? It is clear to me that this police had the intention to kill him, he was obviously a nuisance and embarrassment. They should just admit it. The story of him trying to reach a policeman gun is rubbish. I did not see that in the video.
- Agreed. They just wanted to kill him so that he gets out of their way. His immigration situation is embarrassing to them, they don't know what to do.
- Blah blah blah.
What has any of this got to do with the simple fact this UNARMED man was shot in the street in broad daylights by trained police officers?
They did not come to the scene to arrest him for any particular crime; they knew nothing about any alleged wrongdoings in his past history when they shot him.
Identity theft is not a capital offence!
Having a criminal record is not a capital offence!
Bank robbery is not a capital offence!
And even if suspected of ANY crime, he should be arrested and have his day in court. This brother died because he is BLACK!- Wake up and stop this race card.
You know that if you reach out for an officer's gun, he/she will shot you in the head and go free. The officers are in paid leave and he is death. You make it sound as if this man was an angel. The shocking part is you make it sound as if it is Ok to disobey an officers orders and try to go for his gun. Listen bro/sis, my advise to you is that please just obey the law and avoid all these. If you fail to do so the bullet will go through your brain and life continues.- It is not as simple as you see it. Of course, the race card can be overplayed but did you see the findings of the Justice Dept. with respect to Fergusson? Racial issues can hardly evade the American psyche. It is hard to tell how officers would react when confronted by different races for the same crime. Sometimes trying to sound objective might mean missing simple details.
- Not interested in engaging with anyone who is obviously trying to start a feud for attention sake.However, the cops knew nothing about his alleged history. It is worth noting that before his body was even cold, the media was already running the mental issues angle. Then here we are with bank robbery, prison term, identity theft, all the while not an iota of evidence/paperwork to substantiate any of this slandering.The white man murdered him. The media assassinated his character and now some of the naïve brothers are following suit, claiming he wasn't an angel. I wonder how many people are walking the streets and are not angels. I guess they too should be shot like dogs and let to bleed to dead on a sidewalk.
Assuming he wasn't an angel, the cops did not know this, they killed him anyway. If his record was clean afterwards, would they blow life back into him?- @UnitedstatesofAfrica..Bro well said.
- I guess usa as usual will come up with all kinds of stories about this man now and say all kinds of things just to keep their heads clean of his death. But that won't happen. These shameless gun trotting, happy trigger illiterates called police who go about harassing civilians are the ones to be held accountable for this man's death. I don't care if he robbed a bank last year or if he was a thief. If he robbed a bank and was shot in the process then that would have been different, if he was involved in an arm robbery and was shot in the process then that would have been different. You can't walk up to someones house, hold him down, use a taser on him and then turn around and shoot him point blank range and leave him there to die. He was shot four times or more, that is with the intention to kill him. Only the cop(s) who opened fire knew what he, she or they were thinking.
- Yep!
- united states of africa, i get it, but u should undertsand that poverty causes some of the things which are hapening between police abd blacks in the USA. Yes they target blacks, but havent u realised that its always between poorly behave blacks. He was a criminal full stop. Then the question is, Why was he a criminal ? The answer is, he could not even feed himself, so had to commit crimes like theft in order to have something to eat. Which boils down to my point of cameroonian living in the USA could have tried to help him. We always talk of helping each other. If u people living there don't do it, then i can assure u, us living in the UK do it. We have small groups helping each other.
- @Jo
The issue of race here in America is actually not as simplistic as it appears to be to those on the outside. Generally speaking, if you are a black male age 15 – 30, you are more likely to be up to no good.But funny enough, I think Europeans are a lot worse. I think Europe is a huge plantation. My opinion. I rather deal with a system that clearly shows its limitations than a system that gives the impression to treat you equal, to assimilate you all the while eating you alive. That is how I see the Europeans system. Simply put, the American they kill you before they start eating you. The Europeans tells you how much they love you all the while eating you alive and don't get me started on the French, the most hypocrites people on earth.You are 100% correct in helping each other's. But the true is if a brother gets in trouble around here, including being deported, someone else in the community told on him. We are a special kind of people. It's refreshing to see you guys are doing a better job in helping each other.- If only blacks can stop this race song and just become more responsible and learn to contribute to the growth of the society, things will be great. I'm not by any means saying racism does not exist. There is always some form of discrimination even within families so get use to it.
I have been to court 7 times in one of the most racist state in the U.S but have never been to jail. I am a black and a foreigner so how come I have not been to jail? I am doing something with my life. I am working and contributing towards the economic prosperity of the state and federal gov't by paying taxes and spending money. In all of the 7 times that I have been to court, I have always had to tell the judge what I am doing in life. I can tell you that if I wasn't doing anything like having a job and going to school, I must have at least serve a jail term. The take home message is lets stay away from crime by exploiting the opportunities we have. If you are not satisfy with the U.S judicial and law enforcement policy, then you can come back home and try that of your home land Cameroon.- And you are singing this purity sermon up to the point of comparing your standards to a mad man murdered for triviality. Are you a mad man too?
- Mr. Someone, your assertions are somewhat troubling and please understand that matters are not as simplistic to deserve a narrow perspective. With due respect, you're rebuking the race card while clearly demonstrating your own racial stereotype. There is no doubt that blacks have been more than proportionately involved in crime and it is also true that institutional discrimination is a compelling factor in the station of many African Americans.
Do not be confused with the success of the African diaspora because cultural differences, academic attainment and set expectations are different for the two groups. 2/3 of Nigerian immigrants in the US have at least a college degree or higher and even upon arriving in the US. Also, 1 in 8 Americans has been to college and less than 1 in 8 has a college degree. With the huge school fees and cost of living, you can imagine how this statistic disfavors Blacks and Hispanics. That is why President Obama wrote an edict to executively act to make 2-year college free for all Americans so that the poor and minorities can have a leg up. This move has been challenged by the Republicans
Also, note that more than 85% of jails/prisons or other correctional facilities are privately owned in America and the government pays the proprietors huge sums of money towards care for the inmates. This makes incarceration a huge business for jail owners and lobbyists.
There is no doubt that some blacks are not doing enough to get out of the bondage but the overwhelming cause of their situation is more systemic and the solutions are far from the rebuke you're offering. Capitalism has its natural flaws too and money can be used to create the perception of crime or to mitigate situations which would have been simply diffused without much ado. Police ticketing are tied to a lot of county budgets and the most vulnerable fall victim.
I don't know where you have lived outside of Cameroon but try to read notes on color justice in America and the latest Justice Dept. report on Fergusson in Missouri. I am not trying to psychologize your assertion but to state that the crisis goes beyond your presumptions.
- But haven't said that. i have watched the video and i found it very strange.How come four to five police men could not wrestle a man to the ground and hand -cuff him. They had to shot him to bring him to order.
- You fit say e easy for catch craze man ? I watched the video and soon as the man started jumping up and down, I knew he was gonna get shot. We've seen this play out many times even with dogs.
- So Sad .IF he said he is from Cameroon.Any proof.can any Cameroonian in the US recognise or know if the decease was from Cameroon.May be he is a Nigerian who claim to be a cameroonian.My doubt if Cameroonians are really involved in BANK ROBBERY.
- Most of the US Police are drug addicts,Alcoholics and suffer Psychological probs.Most suffer from mental illness like the deceased.
- And then the goal post shifting continues! Instead of convincing the public of the raison d'etre behind the shooting, they are now going for his history to exonerate their dirty selves. Murderers!Makelele32How did you come up with the conjecture that the victim is Emmanuel Okechukwu?
- Does Afrika have any family or friends to come forward and identify his person? If in the end no one stands to claim his corpse, I will suggest Cameroonians in LA do something in this regard. At least he identified with Cameroon until his time was up. Poor Afrika! RIP.
- Mr l'Ambassadeur, redressez notre drapeau!
- this is the illusion some naive diasporan called american democrazy,cruel deception a country build on crime and muder
- If you are a comeroonian with a positve concern for this matter, and you are living in Europe , Asia, or Africa, don't worry, we the Cameroonians in LA are currently working on a big law sue, seven Cameroonians were in LAPD main office in downtown LA today to get a DNA of this our brother who was shot, the police saw us and started panicking bcs they knew how much LAPD would lost in this matter. Honestly speaking, closed to 51 Lawyers already contacted Mr DAVID to handle this law sue. The Government of France has nothing to do with this dead man, this is our fight!, and the DNA results would disprove the LAPD. Right now, the law sue range from $20-25 million. I will keep you guys posted with any update. Thanks again admin U r doing a great job.
- This is a lunching they set everything up as they were not able to deport him…now they try to play with the law so this set up drama can be used to change the law follow the politic of this case during presidential election on immigration ….people's drinking blood rule this world!
- Cameroonians have nothing to do with his corps,people must understand the way the world works,if u are a cameronian in a foriend land u must try to no were your brothers and sisters are.They is no justification for being a robber,u can't go and still because u don't have a job.My people hard work and prayers is the key.I think he was a lazy man but that does not mean he should be kill but its why he was at the wrong place and doing the wron think with the wrong people.We must no were we are from and were we are going.Homeless people are not poor people.They are just unproductive and lazy people.No cameronian should be blame for not assisting him,he should be burried in the us.And to all of us out of our country we must no that its our duty to go to our meetings and contrubite so that when trouble comes your people will come and help u.RIP.
- They certainly needed his organs cause its not normal anymore from nowhere a situation is created for someone to be shot. Hateing black people but loving the cash from their organs since money has no race.
- One important thing we have overlooked all along is ambition. It's good to be ambitious, but unbridled ambition always push people to soar above their reach and they always get their wings melted by the sun. Had this brother been a little bit more down to earth, he would have avoided getting to rob a bank to pay for his classes. Trying to get to the top by hook or crook can be very fatal at times. In order not to pass off as being judgmental, few things stand out.
First, he is a Cameroonian as ascertained by France when his identity theft was discovered. Also, it's worth noting that France solicited immigration documents from the Cameroonian embassy, but waited for a response to no avail. This can be construed as failing to come to the assistance of a compatriot in distress, be he a criminal or an upright person. Whether he was a criminal or not, as long as he claimed he was a Cameroonian, embassy officials had to intervene and either provide or refuse him help taking into consideration the circumstances at hand, that is after ascertaining whether he was really from Cameroon.The third point is that after his release from jail, he was assigned to halfway house for 6 months , in order to help him with his mental issues. This maybe the reason officials thought he would be able to follow up with regular visits to his probation officer. But everything points to the fact that his mental issues persisted.It can be assumed that authorities knew more about him when he was out there in his tent, and that the arrival of Police in that area might not have been necessarily to investigate a robbery , but to confront him. We all know many people gave the impression that he had violent conduct intermittently and was also erratic. The Police might have decided to put an end to his madness for once and for all.The story line has been changing with time. It has been reduced to the explosive fact that he went for a rookie officer's gun. Before the scuffle with police, he had angrily retreated into his tent and police cocked their guns. They said he came out swinging at them. The reason six Police officers didn't restrain him is beyond comprehension. We have seen and heard this before. In New York, Eric Garner did not go for a rookie officer's gun, but he was still put in a chokehold and choked to death. - Babylon is framing keunang ….this pure character assassination
- This happens all the time…when a black is gunned down by cops the first thing the media does is assassinate his character…they address the clothing – be it hoods or low pants, they talk about criminal past, bla bla bla…when white kids open fire killing scores in public places, we hear reports of them being straight A students, keeping to themselves, etc etc as if someone somewhere failed them.this is a situation which is clear but once again, the investigation will be watered down by the assassination of the victims character. No one will address the ruthless approach of the officers. Officers these days are very trigger happy. Its unfortunate…
No comments:
Post a Comment