A double amputee was shot and killed by California police on Thursday while trying to flee on his stumps. According to surveillance footage, Anthony Lowe Jr., 36, was shot at least eight times. Huntington Park Police said Lowe had stabbed someone unprovoked with a butcher knife when officers responded.
Lowe attempted to flee the scene, getting out of his wheelchair and running away on his two stumps. Two officers first tried to Tase him but were unsuccessful. When a third officer arrived at the scene, Lowe attempted to throw his knife at the police, the LA County Sheriff’s Office said. Seconds later, the officers opened fire.
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Warning: This Video Contains Violent Content
Huntington Park, California police officers shoot dead Anthony Lowe Jr, a double amputee man who tried to run away from them on the stumps of his legs. The cops said they were afraid Lowe would throw the knife he had at them. pic.twitter.com/y4FjqED4Hy
— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 31, 2023
Lowe lay facedown on the ground as he was handcuffed. He died at the scene shortly after.
“The suspect was tased at least twice by Huntington Park Officers, but the deployment of the taser was ineffective,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Video of the incident up until the shooting was taken by a bystander. It has since circulated online. A nearby business captured surveillance footage of the entire incident, but police have not released the video to the public.
On Sunday, Lowe’s family held a press conference to demand justice.
“They killed my kid, who was seated in a wheelchair without legs… My son was murdered. I don’t want nobody to react on it. I just want y’all to get justice,” his mother, Dorothy Lowe, said.
“He got a strong family that loves him, so we want justice for our whole family,” his sister Yatoya Toy said.
His cousin Ellakenyada Gorum said,
“They refuse to give everything we need to know what really happened to him… He was not homeless, he was loved. And it’s sad, really sad, that they’re getting away from killing our African American people, just getting away with it. He was in a wheelchair. What more could he do? What more could he do?”
The shooting occurred just three weeks after Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten to death by officers in Memphis, Tennessee, resulting in nationwide protests. Lowe’s death has sparked a similar call for accountability.
Activists with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police joined the family at the press conference. They have echoed calls for justice.
Justice for Anthony Lowe! Double amputee killed by Huntington Park police pic.twitter.com/a0yEP4WN8T
— CommunityControlpolice (@CMTYCtrlPolice) January 31, 2023
“I just don’t want our city to be torn down because the video that’s out there,” Dorothy Lowe said about footage of her son’s death.
Anthony Lowe’s family says his legs were amputated recently after a separate encounter with police in Texas, according to reporting by the LA Times. His family also said he was distraught and grappled with a mental health crisis. He was the father of two children.
“You guys knew your lives wasn’t in danger. He’s running on his limbs. How cold-hearted could they be?” Gorum said to police during the press conference.
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The LA County Sheriff’s Office did not release the names of the officers involved in the shooting. They have been placed on leave pending an investigation, but no disciplinary action has been taken. No criminal charges have been filed.
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