Police kill African-American man with double leg amputation who was fleeing armed with a knife

The burrs never end. After the death of Tyre Nichols, US police find themselves again accused of excessive use of force, after 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 stabbing.

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.

Another video shows the moment when the officers fired a dozen times at the suspect.

butcher knife

The attempted arrest took place last Thursday and the videos only recently emerged amid controversy after another African-American man, Tire Nichols, was violently beaten by Memphis police in early January in the South the United States.

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 butcher 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.

” Mental disorders “

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 about 10 times on Anthony Lowe, who was shot in the chest and died on the spot.

During a press conference on Monday, his 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. »


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