Authorities will release the body camera footage and 911 tapes involved in the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. “in the near future,” the Associated Press reported.
Philadelphia police commissioner Danielle Outlaw said authorities would release the footage and tapes after speaking with Wallace’s family, according to the AP.
Police in riot gear face protesters marching through West Philadelphia on October 27, 2020, during a demonstration against the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace, a Black man, by police. -(Photo by GABRIELLA AUDI/AFP via Getty Images)
Wallace, 27, was killed by police after officers responded Monday to a report of a man with a weapon. When they arrived at the scene, they encountered a man with a knife who was told repeatedly to drop the knife, according to police. The man didn’t follow calls to drop the knife, and police opened fire, shooting him multiple times. (RELATED: More Than 30 Arrested After Riots Erupt In Philadelphia Following Alleged Police Shooting Of Man With Knife)
Protests and riots began within hours of the shooting. Philadelphia police said that 30 officers were injured during the riots, including a 56-year-old female officer who was taken to the hospital with a broken leg after being hit with a pickup truck.
Rioters set fire to at least one police car, and police arrested at least 30 people, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. At a police station, the crowd clashed with a line of police in riot gear, throwing objects at them. Businesses were looted and significantly damaged, according to the report. After a night of rioting, the Pennsylvania National Guard was activated.
Wallace’s family says he had mental health issues. He had bipolar disorder and was in crisis during the time of the shooting, his family said, according to CNN.
Relatives had reportedly called authorities multiple times throughout the day to ask for an ambulance, but the police arrived first, the Wallace family’s attorney, Shaka Johnson, said, according to CNN.
“Unfortunately, the officers were not equipped with the training or the proper equipment to deal with a person who was experiencing crisis in that moment,” Johnson told CNN. “You don’t deal with crisis with a firearm.”
Outlaw said that officers responding to the scene were not equipped with tasers, and that it’s common for officers to respond to domestic disturbances with a gun, according to CNN.
She also said that the police department should move “as soon as possible” to integrate with mental health services, according to the AP.
Wallace’s father also called on the “looting and chaos” to stop, and instead peacefully protest.
TOPSHOT – A truck displays a sign as protesters march in West Philadelphia on October 27, 2020, to demonstrate against the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace, a Black man, by police. (Photo by GABRIELLA AUDI/AFP via Getty Images)
“Everybody to have respect for our family, to pray for us. Cut it out. The looting is a mindset and it won’t bring my son back. And it won’t, it will escalate things to get worse instead of better,” he added.