11/02/2023

Dozens of police officers were injured and more than 30 people were arrested during protests in Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, Jr.

Police shot and killed a 27-year-old Black man on a Philadelphia street Monday afternoon after yelling at him to drop his knife, authorities say.
AP Domestic
A second night of demonstrations in the wake of the police shooting of a Black man turned violent on Tuesday, with the Philadelphia Police Department reporting about 1,000 looters damaging businesses. 
The looting came despite a call for peace from the father of Walter Wallace Jr., whose fatal shooting by police was caught on video Monday night.
PPD tweeted, “A large crowd of appx 1000 is looting businesses,” and advised residents to avoid the area. The city’s Office of Emergency Management instructed residents in several districts to remain indoors “except when necessary,” citing “widespread demonstrations that have turned violent with looting.” 
Wallace, 27, was shot and killed by police in an incident captured on video. Wallace’s father, Walter Wallace Sr., addressed reporters outside of the family’s home on Tuesday and said the looters were “showing disrespect,” rather than helping his family. 
Stop this violence and chaos,” the elder Wallace said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “People have businesses. We all got to eat.
The shooting occurred before 4 p.m. Monday as officers responded to a report of a person with a weapon, police spokesperson Tanya Little said.
Protesters confront police on Tuesday night in Philadelphia during demonstrations over the shooting death of Walter Wallace.
 (Photo: Matt Slocum, AP)
Shaka Johnson, an attorney representing Wallace’s family, said Wallace’s brother had called 911 to request medical assistance and ambulance.
When you come to a scene where somebody is in a mental crisis, and the only tool you have to deal with it is a gun … where are the proper tools for the job? Johnson said. 
A Pennsylvania National Guard spokesperson told the Inquirer earlier Tuesday that several hundred guardsmen were expected to arrive in the city within 24 to 48 hours.
Police in Philadelphia said 30 officers were injured during violent protests Monday night .
About 500 people had gathered at a West Philadelphia park Tuesday night and began marching through the neighborhood, chanting. There were sporadic reports of arrests in other areas of the city Tuesday night around 9 p.m.
The nights of protests come after months of demonstrations against police violence and racial injustice in the city and across the country that broke out in May when George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Investigation into shooting is underway, officials say
Police commissioner Danielle M. Outlaw said she has ordered an investigation into the shooting and that the inquiry would  address questions raised by the video. Outlaw added that she planned to speak with Wallace’s family.
“While at the scene this evening, I heard and felt the anger of the community,” she said in a statement. “Everyone involved will forever be impacted.”
District attorney Larry Krasner said in a statement that his office would conduct a joint investigation of the shooting along with the police department’s Officer-Involved Shooting Investigation Unit. He urged witnesses to contact his office.
“We intend to go where the facts and law lead us and to do so carefully, without rushing to judgment and without bias of any kind,” he said. 
Protesters gather for a march on Tuesday night in Philadelphia following the police shooting of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed after officers yelled at him to drop his knife.
 (Photo: Matt Slocum, AP)
Police fatally shoot Walter Wallace after yelling at him to drop knife
Officers were called to Cobbs Creek, a predominantly Black neighborhood in west Philadelphia. They encountered the man, later identified as Wallace, who was holding a knife, Little said. 
Officers ordered Wallace to drop the knife, but he instead advanced toward them. Both officers then fired several times, Little said.
Police have shot people experiencing a mental health crisis. Who should you call instead?
Wallace was hit in the shoulder and chest. One of the officers then put Wallace in a police vehicle and drove him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later, Little said.
No officers or bystanders were injured in the incident, Little said. The names of the officers who fired the shots were not immediately disclosed, and their races werent immediately confirmed.
Both were wearing body cameras and were taken off street duty pending further investigation.
Police said the victim, Walter Wallace Jr., “advanced towards” officers with a knife, but it’s not clear in bystander video.
Storyful
Walter Wallace: Philadelphia police fatally shoot Black man after yelling at him to drop knife in recorded incident
Bystander video captures fatal confrontation
Video of the shooting was taken by a bystander and shared on social media by nationally known civil rights attorney Ben Crump. The footage shows two officers pointing their guns at Wallace and yelling at him to put his knife down. 
As Wallace walks around the street toward the officers, they back away from him and continue to aim their weapons at him. Both officers fire multiple shots; at least 10 gunshots can be heard. The camera pans away as gunfire erupts, but Wallace appears to be several feet away from the officers before he falls to the ground. 
A woman, identified by family members as Wallaces mother, runs to him screaming at officers as a crowd gathers around him.
It is unclear in the video whether Wallace had a knife. Witnesses said he was holding one.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow N’dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg
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