Protesters clash with police in Philadelphia.JESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer / AP
The action of the police reignites the streets of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania).
Hundreds of people came out to protest Monday after two officers shot and killed the 27-year-old African American Walter Wallace while holding a knife.
The images were recorded by a passer-by and allow us to hear how the agents asked Wallace to drop the weapon and the almost dozen shots he was given when he did not comply with the order.
The young man was taken to the hospital and died of gunshot wounds.
The outrage over what happened sparked protests and looting, which resulted in some thirty detainees and another thirty police officers injured.
“The officers who responded to the call saw a man on the street.
They immediately realized that he had a knife in his possession and he was waving it erratically, ”Philadelphia Police Sgt. Eric Gripp told KYW.
Authorities said the officers involved were wearing body cameras.
The mayor and the police commissioner reviewed those images that have not been made public because they are part of an ongoing investigation.
However, a civilian who witnessed and recorded what happened from inside his car has shared a video on social networks.
Democratic Mayor Jim Kenny said in a statement that the video raises "difficult questions that must be answered."
The police, for their part, have assured that they are already working with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office in an investigation into the event, and that they have heard "the anger of the community."
The two officers involved in the shooting were assigned to administrative duties while they await the outcome of the investigation.
The union representing the police defended that the two officers were "doing their job" and asked people to "be patient" while the details of what happened are collected.
In a year marked by demonstrations against police brutality towards African Americans and only one week before the presidential elections, tension has once again taken over the streets.
This time, from Pennsylvania, a key state in the elections.
On Monday night, protesters looted businesses east of the city, near where they shot Wallace.
Agents reported that five police vehicles and a fire engine were vandalized.
The protests ended with more than 30 detainees who could face charges of rioting, assault on the police and looting.
A pickup truck ran over an officer, who was taken to hospital with a broken leg and other injuries.
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