US police find themselves once more accused of excessive use of force, following the death in California of an African-American man with both legs amputated, killed by officers from the city of Huntington Park during an intervention for a knife attack.
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Various videos of Anthony Lowe’s attempted arrest sparked controversy on Wednesday. The images, shot by passers-by, show the 36-year-old man leaving his wheelchair to run on his stumps, while several police officers point their weapons at him.
No angle clearly shows what happens next, but it is established that the officers shot the African American, causing his death.
The attempted arrest took place last Thursday and the videos only recently emerged amid controversy following another African-American man, Tire Nichols, was violently beaten by Memphis police in early January in the South the United States.
Mr. Nichols, 29, died on January 10, three days following being beaten by several officers. Five police officers have been fired and charged with murder in the case.
Police in Huntington Park, a small town on the outskirts of Los Angeles, said officers responded to a stabbing by a man in a wheelchair.
The suspect, who was in possession of a 30 centimeter knife, ignored the officers’ orders to drop it and threatened to “throw the knife”, according to a police statement quoted by several American media.
Officers fired a Taser twice, without being in control, police said.
“The suspect continued to threaten officers with the butcher knife, which resulted in an officer-involved shootout,” police said in their statement, without specifying how many officers opened fire.
The available videos show Anthony Lowe in possession of an object that looks like a knife. In the images, he walks away from the police and does not walk towards them.
According to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, responsible for the investigation, two officers opened fire regarding 10 times on Mr. Lowe, who was shot in the chest and died on the spot.
At a press conference on Monday, Mr Lowe’s family explained that he suffered from mental illness. His relatives have not reacted to accusations that he stabbed another person.
“They killed my son, they killed him while he was in a wheelchair, without his legs,” said his mother, Dorothy Lowe. “So they have to do something, because I want justice for my son. »