The family of a double amputee who was fatally shot by California police wants to know why a wheelchair-bound man had to be killed, while his ex-wife said the footage of the incident “broke me.”
Anthony Lowe Jr., 36, stabbed a person in Huntington Park on January 26 and was brandishing a butcher’s knife when he sprang from his chair and was tased and shot around 10 times, according to officials.
According to police, one cop opened fire because he feared Lowe would hurl the huge knife at him.
According to the Los Angeles Times, his mother Dorothy Lowe told reporters on Monday, “I just want the truth.” “My son deserves nothing but the truth and justice. My son was slain.”
She continued, “Anthony was a fine individual. Always present for his family. He is our defender.”
The adolescent children of Lowe stood next to their grandmother with their heads bent and images of their deceased father in their hands.
NBC News reported that Ebonique Simon, the mother of Lowe’s kid, stated, “I want the truth and justice, because if anyone else had shot Anthony, with him being disabled, they would be in prison for murder.”
She continued, “They would not be out taking paid leave.”
Yatoya Toy, the older sister of Lowe, stated that his legs were amputated during an encounter with authorities in Texas last year.
The Daily Mail said that Lowe’s ex-wife, Myissha Simpson-Lowe, 39, had been struggling to accept his condition at the time of his death.
“The video shattered me. I’m sorry … He was defenseless. He posed no threat. He was unable to accomplish anything. “He was attempting to flee,” Simpson-Lowe told the news source.
“All I ask for is justice, please. In essence, this figure is of childlike proportions. What danger was this? What was the threat?” Simpson-Lowe reported.
The Facebook page for Myissha Simpson-Lowe”They could have accomplished their goals in a nonlethal manner. Where did rubber bullets go? What became of the beanbags they formerly shot?” She persisted.
“Bullets? That wasn’t required. I’d like to see those police officers convicted,” the woman, who divorced Lowe in 2021, added.
As is common with shootings involving Huntington Park police officers, the LA County Sheriff’s Department’s homicide team is conducting an investigation, according to Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the unit.
The unidentified cops from Huntington Park involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Online cellphone footage shows a man leaving his wheelchair and bouncing along the pavement, trailed by armed police officers. The shooting is not captured on camera.
The police in Huntington Park responded to a report of a victim who had been stabbed and suffered a collapsed lung and internal bleeding after being attacked by a black man in a wheelchair.
“Without provocation, the suspect dismounted his wheelchair, ran to the victim, and stabbed him in the side of the chest with a 12-inch butcher knife,” according to the police statement. “The suspect then dashed back to his wheelchair and fled the scene in it,”
Lowe disregarded police orders as he “threatened to advance or throw the knife” at the officers, who then tased him, according to the statement.
When that failed, they shot him, and he died on the sidewalk, according to authorities.
Ed Obayashi, an authority in investigations involving the use of force, stated that in order to justify a shooting, police must demonstrate that they faced an immediate threat and had considered acceptable alternatives, such as a Taser.
“However, in this case, we have a subject who, by definition, is physically incapable of resisting officers,” he told NBC News.
“His mobility is severely restricted, even if he is armed with a knife,” he stated. “He is amputated. He appears to have a significant physical disadvantage, which diminishes his apparent threat to officers.”
Toy stated that her brother was terrified of police and possibly attempted to leave, similar to Keenan Anderson, a black man who yelled “They’re trying to George Floyd me!” after a clash with Los Angeles police officers last month.
NBC reported that Toy stated of Lowe, “The murder of George Floyd really affected him.” “All this police brutality is the reason he fled. He was terrified for his life. He was frightened.”
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