Anthony Lowe: New video released in police killing of double amputee
- Published
Anthony Lowe's death has been met with outrage and local protests against police brutality
Authorities have released new video and audio captured moments before the death of a double amputee, who was shot by police last month near Los Angeles.
Anthony Lowe, 36, who was black, was fatally shot by police after allegedly refusing to drop a butcher's knife.
The videos show Mr Lowe attacking a man with the knife before police arrived on scene, and officers shooting Mr Lowe as he attempted to flee.
Officers involved in Mr Lowe's death have since been placed on leave.
Mr Lowe's family earlier said they would file a lawsuit against the city of Huntington Park, alleging wrongful death and civil rights violations.
They said he did not pose a threat to police because of his condition and was undergoing a mental health crisis when he was killed on 26 January.
Police officers in Huntington Park, where the shooting took place, do not wear body cameras. Mr Lowe's family had called on police to release footage of the shooting from nearby surveillance cameras.
In a news conference on Monday, the Huntington Park Police Department played two surveillance videos of the incident. They also played police dispatch audio and a recording of the initial 911 call in which a victim reported being stabbed by a suspect described as a black man in a wheelchair.
One of the videos showed Mr Lowe attacking a man with a knife at an intersection. The other showed police officers engage with Mr Lowe, who then attempted to flee while wielding the knife. The officers then chased Mr Lowe and pointed their guns at him.
He is then seen dropping to the ground, surrounded by three officers with their guns still drawn towards him. Mr Lowe was reportedly shot nearly a dozen times.
In response to the release of the footage, a lawyer for Mr Lowe's family renewed demands for accountability. "There is absolutely no reason to shoot a double amputee in the back 11 times, who was hobbling away from officers," Annee Della Donna said.
Mr Lowe's mother, Dorothy, added that Mr Lowe had struggled after losing his legs five months ago. "I wouldn't wish this feeling for no mother to bear, to see this video and get no answers from the justice system," she said.
Police Chief Cosme Lozano did not answer questions from reporters during Monday's news conference. He said the footage was released with "the goal of advancing full disclosure and transparency of the events that transpired from beginning to end".
The shooting is now being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office, Chief Lozano said, and the officers involved will remain on leave pending the results of that investigation. Those officers have not been named.
In a statement released four days after the shooting, police said Mr Lowe was a suspect in an attack that left a victim with "a life-threatening stab wound resulting in a collapsed lung and internal bleeding". Police later said the victim was in a stable condition.
They added that Mr Lowe "ignored the officer's verbal commands and threatened to advance or throw the knife at officers".
Police say that after two unsuccessful attempts to use tasers to subdue Mr Lowe, they shot him.
The case comes amid renewed scrutiny of police killings in the US after the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.
According to the Mapping Police Violence database, nearly 1,200 people were killed by police in 2022. Officers were charged with a crime in nine of these cases.
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