NOT WANTED

Family of Walter Wallace: We Called for Ambulance, but Philadelphia Police Showed Up

The Black Philadelphia man’s parents said cops were fully aware their son was in a mental-health crisis because they had already visited the house before they shot and killed him.

The family of Walter Wallace—the Black man who was shot and killed by Philadelphia police officers on Monday—say they called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental-health crisis, but that police showed up instead. Police allege the 27-year-old ignored their orders to drop a knife before two white officers opened fire. The shooting has led to two nights of angry protests in West Philadelphia. According to the Associated Press, Wallace’s parents said officers were fully aware their son was in a mental-health crisis because they had already visited the house three times that day. His mother, Cathy Wallace, said that on one of those times, the officers “stood there and laughed at us.” The Wallace family’s lawyer, Shaka Johnson, said Wallace’s brother had called 911 to request medical assistance, but the police intervened.