PICTURED: Aspiring actor, 33, shot dead by California highway patrol officer during brawl on 105 Freeway – as it’s revealed he was living homeless in LA after mental health breakdown

The family of an actor shot dead by California highway patrol has demanded answers after the 33-year-old was shot as he lay on the ground.

Jesse Dominguez died Sunday after police were called to a report of a man wandering erratically along the 105 Freeway in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Dominguez stayed in a shelter near the road. Footage of the incident shows him struggling with the traffic police officer on the ground.

Dominguez carried a Taser into the homeless shelter for his own safety, his family said The Los Angeles Timesand police claim he reached for it.

The two men struggle on the ground, and the officer then pulls his gun and shoots Dominguez.

Shocking video captured the moment a California police officer shot Dominguez

“Fearing for his safety, the officer fired his service weapon, striking the pedestrian,” California Highway Patrol said in a statement.

The California Department of Justice is now investigating. Dominguez’s family said his killing was unjustified, describing it as pure “police brutality.”

“I’ve pretty much supported ‘the blue’ in many circumstances,” said Akasha Dominguez, his stepmother.

‘There have been problems with the police using excessive force. But I’ve never been to the other side.

‘Now I have a completely different point of view. This is absolute police brutality.” She said she felt it was clear her stepson was mentally ill or having a breakdown.

“I don’t know why the officer thought to get involved,” she said.

‘If someone is walking on the highway, something is wrong. They are in a mental health crisis or something else is going on.

“He wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. Why did he have to use that kind of force? Why did he get up after (the officer) had already discharged his firearm once and then did it again and again?’

His sister, Michele Dominguez, agreed that the response was excessive. “I don’t know when the use of deadly force became the first thing officers did in this situation,” she said.

The officer is seen shooting Dominguez at least three times until he stops moving

Social media users reported being stuck in an hours-long traffic jam after the shooting

A law enforcement analyst told the newspaper he thought the highway patrol officer’s actions could have been justified, but that was difficult to judge from the short video clip.

“It’s difficult to diagnose without knowing what the officer saw, experienced and interpreted what happened,” said Travis Norton, head of the California Association of Tactical Officers After Action Review.

‘All I see is a very brief scuffle. I see the suspect pointing what looks like some kind of weapon.

“The video shows, without you knowing anything else, that the use of deadly force is appropriate.”

But another analyst agreed with the Dominguez family that the officer’s actions appeared excessive.

Ed Obayashi, a police shooting expert who investigates on behalf of several law enforcement agencies in California, said the obvious question was why the officer was alone, without backup.

He said investigators will ask the officer, “Why did you shoot him while he was on the ground?” You separated yourself from the individual; why was he still a threat to you?’

The family told The LA Times that bipolar Dominguez was “a softie” who desperately wanted to be an actor or singer but never got a role.

His father, also 55-year-old Jesse Dominguez, said his son worked as a waiter to make ends meet during his auditions and refused their offers of help.

“We just feel terrible that LA just robbed him,” he said.

‘The Hollywood scene made him want to be that personality. No matter how hard we tried to get him to do other work or get formal education, that’s what he wanted to do. “We weren’t going to crush his dreams.”