Police in Los Angeles have called for calm after two officers were put on leave for shooting dead a wheelchair-bound double amputee who tried to run away from them on his stumps.
Two officers from Huntington Park Police Department have been taken off duties after firing at least eight shots at Anthony Lowe Jr., a 36-year-old father-of-two.
Police said they got a call on Saturday that a man was stabbed by another man in a wheelchair. Officers said when they arrived on the scene they found Mr Lowe with a butcher knife.
Video footage taken by a passerby which was released online on Monday shows Mr Lowe out of his wheelchair, trying to get away from two officers using his arms to propel himself along the ground.
In a statement, the department said the attending officers tried to taser Mr Lowe twice but it had failed to incapacitate him.
Within seconds of a third officer arriving, they fire multiple shots, hitting Mr Lowe in the upper torso.
Once he was on the ground lying on his stomach they placed him in handcuffs. He died on the scene.
“The suspect attempted to throw the butcher knife at the officers again, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred,” the LA County Sheriff’s Office release said.
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