What to Know About the Shooting of Walter Wallace Jr. and How It Sparked a Movement
Protestors have taken to the streets of Philadelphia to voice their anger about another occurrence of police brutality.
Walter Wallace Jr., a 27-year-old black man who suffered from mental health issues was shot by police on October 26, 2020, just after 4 PM and people are outraged.
After police were notified about a man carrying a knife in West Philadelphia, another senseless murder took place, and another innocent life was taken due to prejudiced biases held by law enforcement. A video was posted to social media of the shooting and went viral on Twitter.
Walter Wallace was having a mental health crisis. His family called for an ambulance to help him. Police arrived. There was no de-escalation. There was no attempt to assist Mr. Wallace. The police saw his knife and shot him multiple times, killing him.
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) October 29, 2020
That is not public safety.
In a statement to The Philadelphia Inquirer about the incident, a spokesman for the police department, Sgt. Eric Gripp claimed that officers told Wallace to drop the weapon when they arrived on the scene and then said that instead he, “advanced towards the officers.” Officers reportedly fired several times at Wallace until he fell to the ground, and then died shortly thereafter.
Before the shooting took place, Wallace’s mother reportedly tried to protect her son and fix the situation before anything happened between the officers and Wallace. According to eyewitness reports, Wallace was shot a total of ten times by police officers. After his death, Wallace’s father spoke with The Philadelphia Inquirer and said, “Why didn’t they use a Taser? His mother was trying to defuse the situation. He has mental issues. Why you have to gun him down?”
Protesters for #WalterWallaceJr as far as the eye can see on 55th and Pine in West Philly pic.twitter.com/VZJoXMw0f4
— Justin Udo (@JustinUdo) October 28, 2020
Hours after the incident, over 300 protestors gathered in Philadelphia to protest the unjust actions of the officers. At the end of the night, 30 protestors were placed under arrest for rioting, assault, and looting. Ten people were detained, and 20 other individuals were arrested in different parts of the city for similar offenses. 30 officers were injured while combatting the protestors with batons, and the police department has promised to conduct an investigation and look into the Wallace murder.
A mother is now without her son. Children are without a father. A widow is without her husband.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 29, 2020
Walter Wallace Jr. should still be with us today.
How long will we allow this system of impunity to continue?
The Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, District Attorney Larry Krasner, and the Mayor of Philadelphia Jim Kenney have both released statements about the incident and the upcoming investigation. We hope that Walter Wallace Jr. eventually gets the justice that he deserves and look forward to hearing more about the investigation.
