Anthony Lowe: New video released of police killing of double amputee

The death of Anthony Lowe was met with outrage and local protests at police brutality

Authorities have released new video and audio footage taken shortly before the death of a double amputee who was shot dead by police near Los Angeles last month.

Anthony Lowe, 36, a black man, was fatally shot by police after he allegedly refused to drop a butcher knife.

The videos show Mr Lowe attacking a man with a knife before police arrive at the scene and officers shooting Mr Lowe dead as he tries to escape.

Officials involved in Mr Lowe’s death have since been furloughed.

Mr Lowe’s family previously said they would file a lawsuit against the city of Huntington Park alleging wrongful death and violation of civil rights.

They said he posed no threat to police because of his condition and was in a mental crisis when he was killed on January 26.

Police officers at Huntington Park, where the shooting took place, are not wearing body cameras. Mr Lowe’s family had urged police to release footage of the shooting from nearby surveillance cameras.

In a news conference Monday, the Huntington Park Police Department played two surveillance videos of the incident. They also played the audio of the police report and a recording of the first 911 call, in which a victim reported being stabbed to death 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 dealing with Mr Lowe, who then attempted to escape with the knife. Officers then chased Mr Lowe and pointed their guns at him.

He is then seen falling to the ground surrounded by three officers whose guns are still trained on him. Mr Lowe has reportedly been shot nearly a dozen times.

In response to the release of the footage, a lawyer for Mr Lowe’s family has again called for accountability. “There is absolutely no reason to shoot 11 times in the back a double amputee who hobbled away from officers,” said Annee Della Donna.

Mr Lowe’s mother, Dorothy, added that Mr Lowe has been struggling after losing his legs five months ago. “I wouldn’t wish on any mother to go through that feeling of seeing this video and not getting answers from the judiciary,” 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 purpose of advancing full disclosure and transparency of events from beginning to end.”

The shooting is now under investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Lozano said, and officers involved will remain on furlough pending the results of that investigation. These officers were not named.

In a statement released four days after the shooting, police said Mr Lowe was a suspect in an attack in which one victim “suffered a life-threatening stab wound resulting in a collapsed lung and internal bleeding”. Police later said the victim was in stable condition.

They added that Mr Lowe “ignored the officer’s verbal orders and threatened to go ahead or throw the knife at the officers”.

Police say they shot him after two unsuccessful attempts to taser Mr Lowe.

The case comes amid a renewed investigation into police killings in the US following the death of Tire Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee.

Nearly 1,200 people were killed by police in 2022, according to the Mapping Police Violence database. In nine of those cases, officers were charged with a crime.

Source