Video: Police Shoot Homeless Man On Skid Row

Los Angeles police officers have shot dead a homeless man on the city's Skid Row in a confrontation caught on camera.

The video shows LA Police Department officers wrestling with the man as he takes swings at them.

Two of the officers break away to subdue and handcuff a woman who picked up one of their dropped batons.

The struggle becomes increasingly blurry and distant, but shouting can be heard, including the word "gun".

Once on the ground, the man continues struggling, at which point several shots are fired.

LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said the officers, one of whom is a sergeant, shot the man as they struggled on the ground for control of one of the police officer's weapons, after a stun gun had proved ineffective.

The officers were sent to the area, where homeless people pitch tents at night and cardboard shelters cover the sidewalks, to answer a report of a robbery.

The victim, who has been identified as "Africa", was declared dead at a hospital shortly after.

Civil rights leaders in the city are calling for an independent investigation into the shooting.

The Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable has asked California Governor Jerry Brown to appoint a special investigator.

The graphic video was circulated on social media within a few hours of the incident on Sunday.

Commander Smith said the department was aware of the video and would attempt to amplify its sound and pictures to figure out exactly what happened.

"The video is disturbing," he said. "It's disturbing any time anyone loses their life. It's a tragedy."

Commander Smith said at least one of the officers was also wearing a body camera.

On Monday, President Barack Obama urged police to make changes that can build trust in minority communities.

He announced findings from a policing task force he appointed after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old, Michael Brown , by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Mr Obama said that shooting and another one in New York City had exposed "deep rooted frustration" in communities of colour.