The troops responded to a call for an alleged attack with a knife. It is not possible to make out exactly in the images that follow, but the officers fired a dozen bullets, and Lowe died.
police violence
The video comes to light just as police action against African-Americans is under scrutiny in the wake of the death of Tire Nichols in Memphis.
Nichols, 29, also black, died on January 10, three days after a group of police officers beat him with their fists, kicks and clubs, in addition to applying pepper spray.
Five officers have been charged with manslaughter in this case.
Police officers in Huntington Park, a small city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, said they responded to a call of a stabbing attack by a man in a wheelchair last Thursday.
The police version affirms that they found the alleged suspect with a butcher knife of about 30 centimeters and that he disobeyed orders, and threatened to “throw the knife.”
The officers tried to control him, unsuccessfully, with stun guns, they said.
“The suspect continued to threaten the officers with the butcher knife, which led to the shooting,” the police department said in a statement.
Videos show Lowe with something shiny in his hands but he is not seen advancing toward the officers.
The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department, which usually investigates such incidents, said the man was struck in the torso and died at the scene.
“Answer”
Lowe’s family told the Los Angeles Times that the man was dealing with mental issues.
They did not respond to the allegations of the alleged attack with a knife. But Dorothy Lowe, her mother, told the media Monday that she wanted an answer to her death.
“The way they killed my son, they murdered my son, with no legs, in a wheelchair,” she said. “So they need to do something about it because I want justice for my son.”
Source: Ambito
