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walter wallace jr. shooting: man was killed blocks away from the site of the 1985 move bombing. unrest a symptom of the disconnect between the community and police -- and scars that still haven't healed  - cnn

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Unrest after Walter Wallace Jr. shooting boiled over from the disconnect between a Philadelphia community and police

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Walter Wallace Jr.'s shooting death was maddeningly familiar but the decades of trauma that West Philadelphia has endured, made it much more painful.

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Walter Wallace Jr.'s family is seeking justice but they are not advocating for the officers who killed the 27-year-old Black man to be charged with murder.

The family, including Wallace's mother and wife who were at the scene of the killing, privately reviewed the police body camera footage of the fatal shooting early Thursday morning.

According to their attorney, Shaka Johnson, the brief 30 to 40 second video put on display the systematic failings of the Philadelphia Police Department who armed the officers with "a tool by which to assassinate" instead of a less lethal device such as a Taser.

When asked why the family, who has yet to bury Wallace, would not want to pursue murder charges against the two officers who fired seven rounds each into him on Monday, Johnson replied, "Here's why: they were improperly trained and did not have the proper equipment by which to effectuate their job."

Shaka Johnson, the family attorney for #WalterWallace Jr, says he doesn't think the family wants the officers who killed their son to be charged with murder because they were "improperly trained and did not have the proper equipment" pic.twitter.com/dyGxWLoQQ4
- philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) October 29, 2020

Johnson, however, noted the onus is not on the family to pursue charges. It is up to District Attorney Larry Krasner. The family does intend to file a wrongful death suit.

The attorney described the final moments of Wallace's life as they were captured in the body cam footage, saying the officers made no attempt to diffuse the chaotic situation upon their arrival. On the contrary, he said, it was clear the officers intended to kill the mentally unstable man.

According to the family, they called 911 to summon an ambulance that would help them calm Wallace who was experiencing a psychological episode. But instead of healthcare professionals trained to handle such situations it was the two officers who showed up. By then, Wallace was weaving through traffic holding a knife.

Johnson said he looked like a person in "obvious mental health crisis."

"You will see a person walking around not even speaking," said Johnson, remarking that it looked as if Wallace was "in a cloud."

The family has said Wallace had been taking lithium, a mood stabilizer used to treat bipolar disorder.

The video captures audio of one officer telling the other to "shoot him" before both opened fire, Johnson said. At the time, he added, Wallace was approximately a car and a half-length away.

Johnson also claims the video shows Wallace was incapacitated after the first shot.

"I understand he had a knife ... and I think that does not give you carte blanche to execute a man," he said.

The officers involved in the shooting claim Wallace advanced toward them with the knife but the family disputes that account. Several videos recorded by bystanders show at least one officer shouted for Wallace to put down the weapon.

But Johnson said, proper deescalation involves more than yelling, "drop the knife, drop the knife."

The officers' names have not been released. Both have been suspended from active patrol and remain on desk duty.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has pledged to release the video and audio tapes.

I'm in discussions with @PPDCommish and @DA_LarryKrasner about when the body-worn camera footage & 911 audio will be released. We expect it to be by the end of next week after certain matters are resolved with Mr. Wallace's family and their legal counsel. https://t.co/XuXt84JQEX
- Jim #PhillyVotes Kenney (@PhillyMayor) October 30, 2020

Mayor Jim Kenney and District Attorney Larry Krasner released a joint statement Thursday night saying the footage and 911 audio files will be released by the end of next week.

"The Administration and the District Attorney expect BWC footage and 911 audio files to be released by the end of next week after certain matters are resolved in close consultation with Mr. Wallace's family and their legal counsel," the statement read.

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Walter Wallace Jr.'s Family Does Not Want Police Officers To Face Murder Charges

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Walter Wallace Jr.'s family is seeking justice but they are not advocating for the officers who killed the 27-year-old Black man to be charged with murder. The family, including Wallace's mother and wife who were at the scene of the killing, privately reviewed the police body camera footage of the fatal shooting early Thursday morning.

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cnn profiles - nicole chavez  - writer - cnn

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CNN Profiles - Nicole Chavez - Writer - CNN

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Nicole Chavez is a writer for CNN Digital, where she covers national breaking news.

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By MICHAEL SCHREIBER
- PHILADELPHIA - Protesters in this city have expressed outrage following the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. on Oct. 26. Wallace-a 27-year-old Black man-was slaughtered near his West Philadelphia home.

As protests, with some looting, moved into the second day, a 9 p.m. citywide curfew was announced. The governor has sent the National Guard to Philadelphia at the request of city officials, and troops should be arriving on Friday. Meanwhile, the Trump administration said it was prepared to send in armed federal agents if it appeared necessary. Trump, who said a couple of weeks ago that "bad things happen in Philadelphia," now affirms that the city is "wonderful" but needs to be saved. "We're waiting for the call. "We'll be ready to go within one hour," the president declared.

Walter Wallace Jr. was killed as his mother, Cathy Wallace, and neighbors pleaded with the cops not to shoot him. Two officers fired a volley of 14 shots, mowing him down in the street. As Wallace crumpled to the ground, his mother ran to him, screaming and flailing her arms at the cops who had shot her son. An officer drove Wallace to the hospital, where he was pronounce dead a short time later.

A phone video taken by a neighbor of the incident soon appeared on social media. Although a police spokesperson told the press that Wallace had "advanced on the officers" before being killed, that is not readily apparent in the video (he seems to be walking toward their left). And although the cops said Wallace was holding a knife, that fact is also indistinct in the video. But it does show that he was several yards away from the officers who killed him, and did not present an immediate threat to anybody.

Walter Wallace Jr. worked as an Uber delivery man. He aspired to a career as a rap artist, going by the name "Who-he" on YouTube. Wallace "was a family man," Tasha White, who lives a few doors down, told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "He walked with his kids and he walked with his mom. He was a quiet kid."

Wallace suffered from mental health conditions. He had been in court on several occasions since he was a teenager, and the charges included making threats of violence. Judges had ordered that he receive "medication management." On the day of the shooting, his brother phoned 911 three times to request that an ambulance-not police officers-come to the house in order to provide assistance to Walter, who was undergoing an apparent mental crisis.

Pam Africa, a founder of the MOVE organization, who lives on the block, told reporters that the police had visited the neighborhood earlier that afternoon in response to the family's call: "Between 1:30 and 2, I go to my door and I happen to look out, the block is full of cops. And my neighbor is talking to the cops ... she spent a long time telling them about her son."

When the police returned later in the afternoon, they failed to bring with them any people who were skilled in medical care or psychological counseling. Shaka Johnson, a lawyer representing the Wallace family, said that Wallace's wife, Dominique Wallace, informed the officers that her husband was bipolar. His mother, Cathy Wallace, later told reporters, "They just laughed at us."

"Officers who are properly trained should notice certain things when they arrive at a scene," Johnson told reporters. "Especially when the wife tells you, 'Stand down, officers, he's manic bipolar.'"

Although they were unprepared or unwilling to deal with the medical emergency, the cops were obviously prepared to use force. Some witnesses state that the cops drew their guns almost immediately after they arrived. The video confirms that for at least half a minute before the shooting, even as Wallace's mother tried to shield her son, the two cops had their guns drawn and were yelling commands at him. These were maneuvers that stood to escalate the confrontation rather than settle it down.

Pam Africa said that she had left her house for a couple of hours on Oct. 26, and when she returned, her daughter showed her the video of the shooting on Facebook. "I'm looking at my neighbor. And her standing between the police and her son and begging them not to shoot her son," Africa said. "They should have came back with a social worker. They should have came back with a minister from the police department. They should have came back with somebody who deals with mental issues."

"The community was saying: 'This is our neighbor. We know him. Don't shoot him. Because it was obvious to everybody that they were going to kill that brother."

Within hours of the killing, hundreds of protesters had taken to the streets, demanding "Justice!" as residents of the area cheered them on. The crowd was clearly angry and exasperated from seeing Black men and women repeatedly slaughtered by the police. Despite all the promises by public officials that something will be done, the killing goes on. So far this year, at least 995 people have been killed by police, according to the Washington Post.

Protests continued the following day. An evening march on Oct. 27 drew from 500 to 1000 protesters, according to a Socialist Resurgence member who participated. The event was called by the Black Philly Radical Collective and the Party for Socialism and Liberation. It began with a rally at Malcolm X Park, where speakers addressed the need to defund and abolish the police, Marchers then made their way to the 18 th District police headquarters in West Philadelphia, chanting, "No justice, no peace! No racist police!" "Black lives matter!" and "Hands up, don't shoot!" Although the march had been peaceful, they were met there by a line of police holding riot shields.

One protester, Andrea Dinger, brought her four children to the front lines of the protest, directly facing the line of cops. She told a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer, "My son looks like Walter Wallace, he has mental issues like Walter Wallace, I am scared he will be killed like Walter Wallace." The Inquirer reports that, according to a study by the Treatment Advocacy Center in 2015, adults with untreated severe mental illness account for about one in every four fatal police shootings. And only one in three Black adults who need mental health care receive it.

Wallace's family, still in anguish, spoke to reporters in the street. His father, Walter Wallace Sr., said that when he closes his eyes, he sees his son being "murdered, butchered" in front of him. "It's in my mind. I can't even sleep at night." Three of Wallace Jr.'s young sons (he had eight children, with another on the way) also faced the cameras. The oldest boy, Zamir, said, "He used to always tell me how to be a man. And white racist cops got my own dad. And Black lives still matter."

The police said that about 170 people were arrested over the course of two days. Video footage shows the cops acting in a particularly brutal manner toward some protesters, at times taunting them with obscenities. In one video, a white officer wrestles a young Black woman to the ground, where he punches her repeatedly. In another video, police swarm around an SUV, smash the windows with their clubs, drag the driver and an adult passenger onto the ground and beat them, and then pull out a small child from the back seat.

In some neighborhoods, looting broke out, and several police cars were set on fire. Shops throughout the city have now boarded up their windows, as they did following the murder of George Floyd. In the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia, people with baseball bats stood guard. In the same neighborhood in the early summer, white right-wing vigilantes who were similarly armed attacked Black Lives Matter activists-as cops stood by and even thanked them for their help.

Much of the media commentary on the shooting has stressed the need for police departments to offer crisis intervention and de-escalation training to officers. While such reforms cannot hurt, the effect is bound to be, as the saying goes, like putting lipstick on a pig. The major problem is not that some officers are insufficiently trained in non-violent pacification techniques. In point of fact, police are expected to do the opposite -to be killers, thugs, strikebreakers, and even racists. Violence comes with the blue uniform and badge. That's why the cops carry guns and nightsticks. And that's why, when cops kill, wound, or maim someone, they usually suffer little punishment-let alone arrest and imprisonment as criminals.

The fact that drew widespread attention (and outrage) to the killing of Walter Wallace, as with the murder of George Floyd, was that it was carried out in front of many witnesses, videoed, and placed on social media. Otherwise, the circumstances of Wallace's murder would not have been very unusual for the cops, and would possibly even pass unnoticed in the big-business media.

One study, as reported in "Our Enemies in Blue" by Kristian Williams, showed that from 2003 to 2005 in the U.S., 1095 people were killed by police and other officials in the process of arrest-that is, an average of one person a day. Thus, the killing of Walter Wallace reflects a recurring pattern of brutality and death-with many more Black victims than whites-that is endemic to the system of policing.

The police are the armed repressive body of the capitalist state. The protection of people's lives is far down on the list of their responsibilities. Their major role is to protect private property and the rule of the capitalist class, and to make sure that the exploitative economic and social system keeps humming along. For that reason, any people who might appear to disrupt the status quo-striking workers, marching protesters, homeless camps, poor and dispossessed people in general-become their targets. In much of the country, police forces originated in the 19 th-century patrols that were formed to capture escaped slaves, and quelling the demands of the Black community today continues as one of the functions of the police.

As a repressive institution by its very nature, it is impossible to reform the police into becoming a benign or non-violent body. But we can demand reforms that weaken and disarm the police, in that way making them less virulent. We should support demands to defund, disarm, and ultimately to abolish police forces. We should demand that in medical and domestic crises, as in the case of Walter Wallace, qualified medical, psychological, or social services be dispatched instead of the police.

So far, the names of the officers who killed Walter Wallace have not been released. This is inexcusable. The cops must be identified and the footage from their body cameras must be revealed to the public. It's hypocritical that thousands of working-class people-especially people of color-rot in prison on trumped-up charges, when trigger-happy cops are usually able to get away scot free.

For more reading: https://www.leftvoice.org/philly-cops-murdered-walter-wallace-jr-where-do-we-go-from-here

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Justice for Walter Wallace Jr.! Black lives matter!

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By MICHAEL SCHREIBER - PHILADELPHIA - Protesters in this city have expressed outrage following the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. on Oct. 26. Wallace-a 27-year-old Black man-was slaughtered near his West Philadelphia home. As protests, with some looting, moved into the second day, a 9 p.m. citywide curfew was announced.

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The City of Philadelphia says it will release the body camera footage and 911 calls of the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr., but not right away. The bodycam footage of Monday's shooting that was widely expected to be released Thursday, is now expected to be released Wednesday, Nov. 4.

The Wallace family is on board with it.

There has been civil unrest in the city since Monday, the day Wallace Jr. was shot and killed by police.

In a joint statement today, Mayor Jim Kenney, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, District Attorney Larry Krasner and the Wallace family acknowledged the pain Philadelphians are feeling and say they hope by releasing the recordings next Wednesday, there will be enough time to calm tensions.

"The Wallace Family, the Mayor, District Attorney, and Police Commissioner have all agreed that releasing the body camera footage and 911 audio on Wednesday, November 4, by the close of business is in the best interest of our city and its residents. Philadelphians are experiencing an immense amount of pain, and significant unrest persists throughout the entire city," the statement reads.

However, the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police is pushing for Krasner to release the bodycam and 911 recordings to the public, saying officers followed police department training and protocol.

"The officers were justified in their use of force under very difficult and stressful conditions, an armed man confronting them with a knife. For nearly 50 seconds, officers retreated and ordered the male to drop his knife more than 20 times," FOP President John McNesby said in a statement.

They believe once the district attorney's office releases the tapes, the city can begin the process of healing.

Those who have seen them say there are uncomfortable parts to see and hear before the shooting takes place.

"When I hear the officer say certain things that I think are very troubling, and I think even Mr. Krasner a couple of days before the family got a chance to watch the video, is on record as saying he saw the video and he was troubled with what he saw," Wallace family attorney Shaka Johnson said.

As we wait another five days, Outlaw says bodycam footage can answer or leave more questions.

"It can answer a lot of unanswered questions or get ahead of the narrative that's out there where there's misinformation involved, and then I've also seen it go completely the opposite of that," Outlaw said.

There are a lot of moving parts here. At first, the Wallace family questioned the DA's decision, but they are now on board with releasing it next Wednesday, which is a day after the election and only days before the funeral.
MORE FROM CBS PHILLY: Family Attorney: Walter Wallace Jr. Executed By Philadelphia Police While Suffering Mental Health Crisis Prosecutors: 2 Men Facing Mass Destruction, Conspiracy Charges After Illegal Explosives Found In Van On Parkway Philadelphia City Council Passes Bill To Ban Use Of 'Less Lethal' Munition By Police Officers

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911 Calls, Body Camera Footage Of Fatal Police Shooting Of Walter Wallace Jr. To Be Released Nov. 4

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The City of Philadelphia says it will release the body camera footage and 911 calls of the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr., but not right away. The bodycam footage of Monday's shooting that was widely expected to be released Thursday, is now expected to be released Wednesday, Nov.

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Protesters clashed with the police after the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who the authorities said had a knife. The mayor said the shooting raised "difficult questions that must be answered."

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The Philadelphia police on Monday fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man who they said was armed with a knife, touching off protests and violent clashes. Credit Credit... Tom Gralish/The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Associated Press

The Philadelphia police on Monday fatally shot a 27-year-old Black man who they said was armed with a knife, touching off protests and violent clashes hours later in which the authorities said more than two dozen officers were injured.

Mayor Jim Kenney said the shooting, which was partly captured on video by a bystander, raised "difficult questions that must be answered," and the police commissioner promised an investigation.

Protesters marched through West Philadelphia late Monday night, and video posted on social media appeared to show the police clashing with demonstrators. Thirty police officers were treated for cuts and bruises, caused in most cases by bricks, rocks and debris thrown by protesters, said Sgt. Eric Gripp, a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department. A sergeant was treated at a hospital for a broken leg after she was hit by a pickup truck, he said.

The shooting took place around 4 p.m., as the police responded to a report of a man armed with a knife. Video that was posted on social media shows the man, whom the authorities later identified as Walter Wallace Jr., walking into the street as people yell and two police officers aim their guns at him.

At one point, Mr. Wallace, who is several feet from the officers in the video, walks toward them as they quickly move backward. The camera points down toward the ground as about a dozen shots are heard.

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The camera quickly moves up as Mr. Wallace falls to the ground, and people rush toward him, including the officers. One woman who is screaming appears to throw something at one of the officers.

"Bro, they just killed him in front of me," a man can be heard saying. "Y'all ain't have to give him that many shots."

Sergeant Gripp told The Philadelphia Inquirer that officers had ordered Mr. Wallace to drop the knife and that he had "advanced toward the officers." The paper reported that there were two officers involved in the episode. After the officers shot Mr. Wallace, one of them drove him to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, he said.

Chief Inspector Frank Vanore of the Philadelphia police said at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon that he did not know how many times Mr. Wallace had been shot.

"It's all part of the active investigation,'' he said. "We are still reviewing all the evidence."

Mr. Wallace's father, Walter Wallace Sr., said his son had struggled with mental health issues and was on medication, The Inquirer reported. "Why didn't they use a Taser?" he asked. "His mother was trying to defuse the situation."

Mr. Kenney, the mayor, said at the news conference on Tuesday that he had spoken with Mr. Wallace's family "to hear their concerns firsthand and answer their questions to the extent that I am able."

He said he had watched "the video of this tragic incident and it presents difficult questions that must be answered."

"We need a speedy and transparent resolution for the sake of Mr. Wallace, his family, the officers and for all of Philadelphia," he said.

The city's police commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, echoed the mayor's sentiments and said she shared in his grief over Mr. Wallace's death. She said she had directed the Police Department's officer-involved shooting investigation unit to review the matter.

"There are many questions that demand answers," she said. "Residents have my assurances that those questions will be fully addressed by the investigation."

A Philadelphia City Council member, Jamie Gauthier, said in a statement that she wanted the police to immediately release the officers' body camera video from the incident. "The public deserves a full, unvarnished accounting of what took place today," she said.

Ms. Gauthier also criticized the officers for firing their weapons. "Had these officers employed de-escalation techniques and nonlethal weapons rather than making the split-second decision to fire their guns, this young man might still have his life tonight," she said.

The Philadelphia district attorney, Larry Krasner, said his office was looking into the shooting and urged the public to be patient.

"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 in a statement. "In the hours and days following this shooting, we ask Philadelphians to come together to uphold people's freedom to express themselves peacefully and to reject violence of any kind."

In a statement, John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, also asked for the public's patience and defended the officers.

"Our police officers are being vilified this evening for doing their job and keeping the community safe, after being confronted by a man with a knife," he said. "We support and defend these officers, as they too are traumatized by being involved in a fatal shooting."

In a joint statement, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee, and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris of California, sought to validate protesters' anger over the death of Mr. Wallace while discouraging violence and attacks on police.

"We cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death," Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris said. But, they added: "Looting is not a protest, it is a crime. It draws attention away from the real tragedy of a life cut short."

At around 9:30 p.m. on Monday, protesters were marching through the streets of West Philadelphia, with a parade of vehicles honking behind them. Just after 11 p.m., video posted on Twitter showed police officers using batons as they clashed with a large group of people on a residential street. Taryn Naundorff, 21, who recorded the video, said the police "started forcefully pushing back the crowd and beating anyone who wouldn't back up."

Eight police vehicles and one Fire Department vehicle were vandalized, Commissioner Outlaw said, adding that one of the police vehicles had been set on fire. She noted that a total of 91 people were arrested during the civil unrest that took place from Monday into Tuesday morning. There were 11 assaults on police officers and there were 76 arrests for commercial burglaries, including three that were committed with guns, she said.

Anticipating the possibility of more civil unrest on Tuesday night, Commissioner Outlaw said the department would increase its presence in key locations around the city.

There have been widespread demonstrations against police violence and racial injustice across the country since May, when George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by the police in Minneapolis.

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Protests in Philadelphia After Police Fatally Shoot Black Man

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Protesters clashed with the police after the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who the authorities said had a knife. The mayor said the shooting raised "difficult questions that must be answered."