(10-29-2020, 02:54 AM)TurndownforWatt Wrote:

(10-28-2020, 10:12 PM)americus 2.0 Wrote: This according to a BBC article: The bolded description contradicts his actions that have led to repeated arrests, mental evals and treatment and jail time. I get that he was bipolar and that will jack you up even when you're being treated, but he was no homebody. Should he have been tazed rather than shot? Yes, and I'm sure Philly PD will address the issue of why their officers didn't carry tazers. I've seen the crazy that bipolar can bring and it's quite possible the officers felt threatened not by just the knife but by his aggressive manner. I guess we'll see if they release the bodycam footage. 

Who was Walter Wallace?

Mr Wallace was an aspiring rapper, and often recorded songs on issues including gun and police violence and racial injustice, according to relatives and neighbours, who described him as a "quiet, family man".

The Inquirer reported he was a father of eight who had been in and out of court throughout his adult life. He was awaiting trial for allegedly making threats, but this had been delayed repeatedly because of the coronavirus pandemic.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, assault and possessing an instrument of crime in 2017 after kicking down a woman's door and putting a gun to her head, Philadelphia's ABC affiliate WPVI reports. He was sentenced to 11-23 months behind bars, with a judge requiring mental health supervision.

In 2013, he pleaded guilty to assault and resisting arrest after punching a police officer in the face, the broadcaster reported, saying that a judge had ordered him to undergo psychiatric evaluation and treatment.

"I do know that he was on a regimen of lithium and that says to me he was under a doctor's care," the family lawyer said after the shooting, citing a medicine used in the treatment for conditions including bipolar disorder.

They said on court TV live that due to budget cuts 2/3rds of the Philadelphia police force do not have tazers.. You can't make this [BLEEP] up. This is what happens when you defund the police. We should be giving them more tools in their toolbelt.. Preferably more less lethal options. (it's 2020, new technology needs to be created. These cops didn't even have a less lethal option, before they pulled their sidearm.. That's ridiculous, how do we expect these people to do their jobs if we aren't even properly funding/supplying them.  Think about it, if those Cops just had tazers, that guy might still be alive right now. Defunding the police will only further cost lives. It'll be a "perp gets shot and killed.. mass riot" never ending cycle.