Curfew imposed in Philadelphia after black killed
Print Edition
Philadelphia officials imposed a citywide curfew on Wednesday, seeking to avert a third night of violence amid protests over the fatal police shooting of a black man wielding a knife and described by family as undergoing a nervous breakdown.
The streets of Pennsylvania鈥檚 largest city have been tense since Walter Wallace, 27, was gunned down on Monday by two police officers responding to what his relatives say was a call for assistance with a mental health crisis.
His death set off two nights of looting and periodic skirmishes between police and protesters decrying the shooting as the latest instance of racially biased policing in a US criminal justice system that often subjects African Americans to lethal force.
Calm prevailed as a 9pm to 6am curfew ordered by mayor Jim Kenney took effect about three hours after sundown on Wednesday.
A protest rally planned for earlier in the evening was postponed, then called off, after fewer than a dozen people turned out. Four people were later detained for curfew violations, but the arrests were uneventful.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, a Democrat, said he mobilized state National Guard troops to assist local law enforcement and emergency responders until order was firmly restored. The troops were expected to begin arriving today.
Philadelphia police arrested 172 people, and 53 officers were injured over two nights that began with peaceful demonstrations but gave way to looting of big-box stores and other businesses, some of them still recovering from unrest in the summer.
City officials said as many as 1,000 people were involved in looting in one corner of the city on Tuesday night, catching police off guard. 鈥淭hese individuals are doing nothing but simply wasting our precious resources,鈥 Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw told a news conference on Wednesday, condemning what she called 鈥渨idespread lawlessness.鈥
The turmoil turned Philadelphia into the latest flashpoint over racial justice days ahead of Tuesday鈥檚 presidential election. It caps months of protests ignited by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man in handcuffs, as he was pinned by his neck to the street under the knee of a white Minneapolis policeman.
President Donald Trump, seeking a second term in office, has made support for police a top campaign issue, calling for a tough 鈥渓aw-and-order鈥 stance toward protests. Trump said the events in Philadelphia were 鈥渢errible鈥 and offered to send federal help.
On Tuesday, his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, lamented 鈥渁nother Black life in America lost,鈥 adding, 鈥淲e cannot accept that in this country a mental health crisis ends in death.鈥
Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground in the election, but it remained to be seen how events in Philadelphia, a predominantly black and Hispanic city and a Democratic stronghold, might affect voting.
Tuesday鈥檚 upheavals erupted despite pleas from the dead man鈥檚 father, Walter Wallace Sr to 鈥渟top the violence鈥 out of respect for his son and family. He also called for justice in a case that remained under investigation.
An onlooker鈥檚 video of the fatal confrontation posted on social media showed Wallace approaching two police officers who drew their guns after ordering him to drop the knife. The camera cuts away briefly as gunfire erupts and Wallace collapses.
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