Last Thursday, a pair of police officers from Huntington Park responded to a stabbing report where the assailant was described as a "Black male suspect in a wheelchair," and the victim was said to have suffered a life-threatening wound. The suspect, a 36-year-old double amputee named Anthony Lowe Jr., reportedly leaped from his wheelchair, motioned towards his victim, and stabbed him on the side of his chest with a 12-inch butcher knife before retreating. Shortly after the incident, law enforcement tracked Lowe Jr. down a few blocks away with a large knife in his possession, and that's when the controversial confrontation began.
According to the two Huntington Park police officers on the scene, Lowe Jr. was instructed to drop his weapon, but he allegedly declined and threatened to chuck his knife at them instead. The officers also claimed that they tried to tame the suspect with a taser to no avail. At some point during the ordeal, the officers made their way toward Lowe Jr., who responded by detaching from his wheelchair, and that's around the time when an eyewitness began to film them. The video shows all parties involved with their weapons in hand, but it does not depict who exactly initiated those actions. The clip ends with the officers chasing after Lowe Jr. In the end, the officers unloaded ten rounds at the suspect, hitting him in the torso and killing him on the scene.
It's been nearly one week since Lowe Jr. was killed, and the police officers involved have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by upper management. According to Lowe Jr's sister, he reportedly became an amputee because of a previous altercation with police officers, which may have contributed to his initial reaction to being approached by the Huntington Park Police. Lowe Jr's family has since rallied together to bring more awareness to the fatal incident with protests outside the Huntington Park Police Department, locally televised interviews, and more.
Source: MSN
