By Joseph Wilkinson
New York Daily News
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia police released body-camera video Wednesday of two officers killing Walter Wallace Jr. on Oct. 26.
Wallace’s killing, which was also captured on bystander cellphone video, led to protests and violence in the City of Brotherly Love throughout the following week.
The body-cam video shows Wallace, 27, walking out of a house and around a residential street with a knife. The two responding police officers, who were identified Wednesday as 25-year-old Sean Matarazzo and 26-year-old Thomas Munz, repeatedly tell Wallace to drop the knife.
In the video, family members can be seen trying to corral Wallace. They’ve said since that he was going through a mental health breakdown.
After Wallace takes a few steps toward Matarazzo and Munz, they fire several shots, killing him.
Neither of the officers were carrying stun guns, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has said.
The Wallace family’s attorney, Shaka Johnson, has said that the family does not want the two cops to be charged with murder. Instead, they blamed the officers’ lack of training and proper equipment.
Police also released 911 calls from Oct. 26. In the released calls, multiple people call Philadelphia police and report a man assaulting his mother and father.
Officials shared the video and audio with Wallace’s family last week and edited the publicly available video at the family’s request. Wednesday’s release was the first time the nation’s fourth-largest police department shared body-camera video of its officers shooting someone, local Fox affiliate WTXF reported.
Dozens of people gathered Wednesday outside Philadelphia City Hall to protest Wallace’s killing, and their demonstration merged with a hundreds-strong “Count Every Vote” march shortly before the fatal footage was released, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
In the prior week of protests, police said more than 200 people were arrested and 60 cops were injured.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office is investigating Wallace’s killing, and police are also conducting an internal investigation.
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