LA Police Release Video Of Shooting Of North Providence Man

HOLLYWOOD, CA — The Los Angeles Police Department has released police cruiser and bodycam video of an officer-involved shooting that resulted in the death of a North Providence man.

Video of the April 24 shooting of Richard Brian Solitro, 34, was posted to the LAPD's YouTube account Tuesday. Solitro was shot and killed by a Los Angeles police officer on a Saturday afternoon during a confrontation on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Watch the video below.

The police department said two officers were responding to an unrelated incident when a man cut them off and backed his car into their cruiser. The man exited his black Hyundai with one hand behind his back, started a 3-2-1 countdown, and then quickly gestured with his arm and hand as if he were readying to shoot at an officer, police said. An officer then shot Solitro.

It turned out that Solitro, who was wearing body armor and had strange slogans written on his car, was unarmed. Solitro is the same man shot by an officer in North Providence in 2018 after police went for a welfare check at his home. According to reports, Solitro was shot after pointing a replica gun at a North Providence police officer.

Solitro's family said in April they had struggled to find mental health treatment for him.

"We believe this tragedy could have been avoided. Persons suffering from mental illness and/or addiction are not criminals," said Solitro's spouse, Alexandria D'Angelo, after his death. "They need help. They should not be ignored, marginalized, or forgotten."