Double-amputee with a knife shot and killed by police; family claims excessive force used - CNN

CNN  — 

Videos purportedly capturing the moments earlier the shooting decease of a double-amputee antheral holding a weapon aft a stabbing onslaught are raising questions astir whether constabulary utilized excessive force successful the Southern California metropolis of Huntington Park.

On Thursday afternoon, Huntington Park Police Department officers responded to a study of a stabbing, the section said successful a connection Monday. Responding officers recovered a unfortunate suffering from “a life-threatening stab coiled resulting successful a collapsed lung and interior bleeding,” the connection said.

The unfortunate described the attacker arsenic a Black antheral successful a wheelchair who “dismounted the wheelchair, ran to the unfortunate without provocation, and stabbed him successful the broadside of the thorax with a 12” butcher knife” and past fled the country successful his wheelchair, HPPD said.

The unfortunate was taken to a section infirmary and remains successful captious condition, according to HPPD.

During their search, constabulary recovered the alleged fishy a fewer blocks distant holding a 12-inch butcher knife, HPPD said. The fishy allegedly ignored serviceman commands and threatened to “advance oregon propulsion the knife,” and officers utilized 2 abstracted Tasers to effort and subdue the fishy but failed, HPPD said.

“The fishy continued to endanger officers with the butcher knife, resulting successful an officer-involved shooting,” HPPD said. It was not instantly wide however galore officers were contiguous oregon changeable the suspect.

The fishy was struck by gunfire successful the precocious torso and was pronounced dormant connected scene, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said successful an archetypal statement.

The progressive officers were placed connected paid administrative permission pending ongoing investigations from HPPD, the sheriff’s department’s Homicide Bureau and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, HPPD said.

The sheriff’s section confirmed it is investigating but declined to comment.

While authorities did not sanction the antheral who died, household members identified him arsenic 36-year-old Anthony Lowe during a quality league held by a assemblage organizer.

Bystander videos of the incidental posted connected societal media look to amusement the confrontation betwixt constabulary and Lowe connected Thursday conscionable earlier the shooting. A household subordinate of Lowe confirmed to CNN the antheral successful the video is Lowe.

In 1 video, 2 uniformed officers are seen pointing their guns astatine Lowe. Lowe past appears to determination himself successful the other direction, holding thing shiny successful his hands, portion an serviceman walks down him. A constabulary car past obscures the view. Another video from a antithetic presumption shows the infinitesimal erstwhile officers look to unfastened fire.

“The mode they killed my son, they murdered my lad successful a wheelchair with nary legs,” Dorothy Lowe, Anthony Lowe’s mother, said astatine a quality league Monday. “So they bash request to bash thing astir it, due to the fact that I bash I privation justness for my son.”

Family members did not code the proposition that Lowe whitethorn person stabbed idiosyncratic anterior to the shooting.

The household and assemblage members are calling connected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to complaint the progressive officers.

“There tin beryllium nary justification for sidesplitting Anthony, and we’re present to basal with his household and his assemblage to combat for justness for Anthony,” said Cliff Smith, an organizer with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police.

Lowe was a loving, caring begetter who loved to creation and was rather funny, Ebonique Simon, parent to 1 of Lowe’s children, told CNN. He had been “dealing with a batch of depression” implicit the nonaccomplishment of his legs successful an incidental astir a twelvemonth ago, she said.

The household is heartbroken implicit the nonaccomplishment and cannot marque consciousness of the communicative the constabulary are telling, she told CNN.

The household is eagerly awaiting autopsy results arsenic the coroner’s researcher assured them that “Anthony’s assemblage volition archer the story,” she said.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s bureau volition behaviour an autarkic reappraisal aft the sheriff’s section completes its investigation, but Communications Director Tiffiny Blacknell told CNN successful a connection that it is inappropriate to remark until the lawsuit is formally presented.

“We cognize that the Black assemblage successful Los Angeles is reeling and searching for answers. We cognize thing tin heal the trauma the assemblage is experiencing close now,” she said, adding that “Los Angeles County deserves to cognize however and wherefore these incidents person occurred.”

The California Attorney General’s office, which is required nether authorities instrumentality to independently reappraisal officer-involved shootings successful the state, told CNN that it is not investigating the substance “at this constituent successful time.”