An investigation was opened in California after police officers killed a black man in a wheelchair who, they say, refused to put down a butcher knife.
Anthony Lowe, 36, an amputee, was shot on January 26 in the Los Angeles area.
According to the police, he threatened the officers after stabbing another person.
The investigation comes after the death of Tyree Nichols at the hands of five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, which caused a public uproar across the United States this week, following the publication of the body video of the officers involved in the incident.
The video is hard to watch
Anthony Lowe's relatives (Photo: GettyImages)
Anthony Lowe's relatives (Photo: GettyImages)
Lowe's murder took place in Huntington Park, and the incident was filmed by passers-by who were there.
In the grainy video, you can see part of the confrontation with Lowe, who is seen holding a long object in his hand and trying to escape from the police.
The shooting itself is not seen in the video.
In a Jan. 30 statement, the Huntington Park Police Department said officers responded to the stabbing and that the victim provided them with a description of the suspect.
According to them, the suspect left his wheelchair, approached the victim and stabbed him in the chest with a 30 cm long butcher knife, before getting back into the wheelchair and fleeing. The person who was stabbed was "severely injured and suffering from internal bleeding and a collapsed lung," the police said.
When the officers were able to reach Lowe, He “ignored their commands and threatened to approach or throw the knife at them.” After two unsuccessful attempts to restrain Lowe with a taser, the officers shot him.
The video (photo: screenshot, official website)
Police officer Hugo Rinaga told the Los Angeles Times that the police did not intend to release the video of the incident and added that the officers themselves did not carry body cameras.
"He tried to run away, and every time he turned around, he threatened to throw the knife, so they used a Taser against him," he said.
"The police tried to restrain him with a less lethal electric shock, but it didn't help, and they had to do something else."
The two officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid leave.
Their identities have not been released.
On Tuesday, Lowe's family members demanded justice from the police.
"They murdered my son, in a wheelchair without legs," said his mother.
A spokesperson for the family told CBS that Lowe suffered a mental breakdown during the shooting.
His sister told the Los Angeles Times that his legs were amputated last year after an incident with Texas police.
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