‘He doesn’t have the knife!’: Body-worn video puts LAPD shooting in new context

Samuel Soto, 53, who had previously dropped a knife, holds a cellphone in his hand just before he is shot by LAPD officers in Pico-Union. Body-worn camera video from the July 26 incident, released Wednesday, shows that 53-year-old Samuel Soto was armed with a knife when he was shot by the first two officers who arrived on scene. The day after the shooting, LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the civilian Police Commission that officers had responded to a call about a man with a knife at the intersection of Union Avenue and Pico Boulevard about 10:50 p.m. and found Soto “holding a knife.” “The officers gave Mr. Soto commands. He said he and other LAPD officials try to give basic descriptions of police shootings after they occur in order to “demonstrate transparency,” but recognize that information is incomplete and “will often change as additional information and evidence is collected.” Moore said the department released the video in Soto’s shooting before the normal 45-day mark in order “to expand on the details initially provided” and “demonstrate that greater transparency.” The video released Wednesday contains footage from multiple officers’ body-worn cameras. The first two officers who responded to the call rolled up to the location and immediately jumped out of their vehicle, with one saying, “Hey, let me see your hands, bro!” The footage then shows the man charging forward toward the second officer with a knife and being shot multiple times.