Man fatally shot by CHP on 105 Freeway used Taser on officer, agency says

LYNWOOD, Calif. (KABC) -- The CHP is providing additional details about a deadly officer-involved shooting on the 105 Freeway in Lynwood that was captured on video.

The California Department of Justice is investigating the incident in which an officer was seen on video shooting a man after a struggle in the middle of the roadway on Sunday.

Late Monday the California Highway Patrol said for the first time that the man involved in the incident, who died after the shooting, had used a Taser against the officer during the struggle. The officer was "in fear for his safety" when he shot the man, the CHP said.

CHP says the incident started with reports about a man walking on the freeway around 3:15 p.m. Sunday on the westbound 105 near Wilmington Avenue. Officers found the man walking across westbound lanes while wearing headphones and talking on his phone.

An officer arrived on scene at 3:27 p.m. and tried to convince the pedestrian to leave the lanes of traffic, but he refused, according to the new CHP statement. Officers stopped traffic while one officer directly approached the man in lanes of the freeway.

Videos posted to social media show the officer and the man then struggling on the ground in the middle of lanes. The video then shows the officer pulling his gun and shooting the man multiple times.

According to the CHP statement: "During the struggle, the pedestrian was able to access a taser he had in his possession, activated the weapon, and used the taser against the officer. Following the pedestrian's use of the weapon against the officer, and in fear for his safety, the officer fired his service weapon, striking the pedestrian."

The pedestrian later died at the hospital. The westbound 105 was closed for hours as authorities investigated.

The officer was placed on administrative time off per standard department policy while the shooting is investigated by the state Department of Justice.