Vid of Philly shoot to be released Wed.
Philadelphia authorities will release body-camera video of Walter Wallace Jr.’s killing by police on Wednesday.
The city’s mayor, police commissioner and district attorney announced the decision Friday afternoon, alongside Wallace’s family. They said the delay would “provide enough time to calm tensions.”
The footage will come out the day after Election Day.
Bystander video of two police officers fatally shooting Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man, while he is holding a knife has been public since his death Monday. Wallace’s family has seen the body-cam video as well.
The shooting led to a week of protests in the City of Brotherly Love. Police said 212 people have been arrested since Monday night, though only two people were arrested overnight Thursday.
Cops said 58 police officers have been injured in the demonstrations, including one who was still hospitalized.
Authorities said Friday that 911 audio leading up to Wallace’s killing would also be released Nov. 4. His family has said that they called 911 for an ambulance because he was having a mental health breakdown, but the cops showed up instead.
The Wallace family attorney, Shaka Johnson, said that the family does not want the two officers — who have not been identified — to be charged with murder, local ABC affiliate WPVI reported. Johnson said that a lack of training and equipment was to blame for their decision to shoot Wallace.
“I understand he had a knife ... and I think that does not give you carte blanche to execute a man,” Johnson told reporters.
Mayor Jim Kenney announced a citywide curfew beginning at 9 p.m. Friday and ending at 6 a.m. Saturday. Philadelphia also had an official curfew Wednesday night.