article_snippet: Surveillance footage, police and homeless community activists paint wildly different pictures of the man -- one who could be violent, benevolent, troubled and altruistic.
article_snippet: Very, very depressed.
article_snippet: I attribute the erratic behavior to this difficult environment out here.
article_snippet: Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck called the incident "an extreme tragedy."
article_snippet: "We feel great compassion in the LAPD for people who live in conditions of homelessness, and often mental illness, with no treatment," Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said.
article_snippet: We prepare We officers to deal as best our officers can with our officers, but the reality is this is much more than a problem that the police alone can solve.
article_snippet: Bales said the dismal conditions of LA's Skid Row makes Bales a tinder box for more problems.
article_snippet: There is no other major city in the U.S. that has a skid row like ours," the man in the orange tent said.
article_snippet: 2,000 human beings living on the street.
article_snippet: Until we deal with that, we're going to continue to have an explosive situation.
article_snippet: CNN's Kyung Lah reported from Los Angeles County; Holly Yan reported and wrote from Atlanta.