Danielle Outlaw, the Philadelphia Police Chief, hasn’t realeased names of the officers who killed Wallace. Photo: YouTube screenshot.
A curfew has been imposed on Philadelphia effective from 9PM Wednesday as the uprising that erupted after the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. moved into a third day.
For two days in a row angry demonstrators took to the streets to voice their outrage. Wallace, a mentally-challenged African American male, age 27, was killed when two police officers fired more than a dozen rounds at him in the middle of the street. Seconds earlier, his family members had been trying to calm Wallace, who then walked around a vehicle and encountered two policemen with drawn weapons facing him.
Seconds later, he lay dead in a pool of blood. A woman described as Wallace’s mother, broke down into tears at the scene, and tried to strike the officers as they converged over Wallace’s body. The shooting was recorded by a bystander. Family members had reportedly called for an ambulance to take Wallace to hospital, but the police showed up instead. Wallace, suffered from bi-polar disorder a lawyer for the family, Shaka Johnson, told The Wall Street Journal. He was reportedly holding a knife.
The demonstrations began Monday night and continued into Tuesday, with protests also reported in New York City. The Philadelphia National Guard was deployed Tuesday night and police started rushing into demonstrators, knocking some to the ground and striking others with batons.
More than 170 people have been arrested and the Philadelphia Police Department said over 50 officers have been injured. Some enraged demonstrators have attacked businesses in Philadelphia.
