Curfew in Philadelphia after riots over the death of another African American



[ad_1]

On Monday, 27-O, police shot and killed Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old man armed with a knife. His family says he suffered from mental problems.

Of:
AFP

The US city of Philadelphia, shaken by looting and violent protests after the death of a black man at the hands of the police, announced a curfew on Wednesday, October 28.

The curfew will apply from this Wednesday at 9 p.m. until Thursday 29-O 6 a.m., the municipal government announced after Republican President Donald Trump blamed Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney for the violence.

Thousands of people have been protesting on the streets of Philadelphia since Monday, when police shot and killed Walter Wallace, a 27-year-old man with a knife.

In a North Philadelphia neighborhood, shops and ATMs were vandalized. More than 170 people have been arrested since Monday night, according to city police.

Wallace’s family said he suffered from mental problems and that they called an ambulance on 911, but the police were the ones who came. They also ask why the officers didn’t use a taser gun instead of firearms.

Political tension

Wallace’s death and protests in Pennsylvania, a key flag vane state in the November 3 presidential election, have reignited tensions between Republicans and Democrats.

“What I see is terrible and, frankly, the mayor or whoever authorizes people to march and loot without stopping them is just as terrible,” Trump said in Las Vegas, in the middle of an election tour.

The death of George Floyd, a black man, after a white police officer knelt for several minutes on the neck in May in Minnesota sparked massive national protests against racism and police brutality.

Trump, meanwhile, promises his followers that he will defend “law and order” if re-elected.

On Tuesday, October 27, his Democratic rival Joe Biden and his vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in a statement that they were “heartbroken” by Wallace’s death. But they also called on the protesters to protest peacefully.

Two police officers shot Wallace to death at around 4:00 pm local time (20:00 GMT) on Monday after he refused to drop the knife.

A video made with a phone and posted on social media shows Wallace pushing his mother, who tries to control him, and then walking towards the police.

“Drop the knife,” one of the agents in the video yells at him before opening fire.

National Guard troops will be sent to the city, Governor Tom Wolf said.

The Pennsylvania Chief of Police has opened an investigation into the shooting.

[ad_2]
Source link