The head of Philadelphia’s police union said Wednesday that cops had “no choice” but to shoot the knife-wielding black man whose death has sparked widespread unrest in the Pennsylvania city.
John McNesby, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, told a local radio show host that 27-year-old Walter Wallace “was a problem in the community” and forced the officers’ hands when he refused to drop a knife during a confrontation Monday afternoon.
“It’s unfortunate, but I mean our officers, you know, they did what they were trained to do and also want to go home at night,” McNesby told WPHT Talk Radio 1210 host Dom Giordano.
“He ignored numerous commands, numerous orders to drop the knife and then he lunged at them,” he said. “I mean, he left the officers with no choice. They don’t look to hurt anybody, but they also want to go home safe at night while protecting the community.”
McNesby also posted a video on Twitter Wednesday urging the city to release details of the fatal encounter.
“We’re calling on the city leadership to release the facts of this case,” McNesby said in the post. “It’s not hard. It’s cut-and-dry. Release what you have, support your officers, back your officers, and get a handle on this thing.”
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said the shooting is under investigation and said Wednesday that the department is weighing whether releasing the names of the two offices involved would put them in danger, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Wallace’s family said his pregnant wife told cops he suffered from bipolar disorder and was in the throes of a crisis when the officers got to the home — the third time police had been dispatched there that day.
Video of the shooting shows Wallace holding a knife as he approaches the officers, who can be heard telling him to drop it. Wallace comes within several feet of the cops when they open fire.
The dead man’s family said they had called for an ambulance, not police, prior to the incident.
But McNesby said Wallace was “by all accounts a problem in the community,” with 18 prior arrests, including five for assaulting police.
“It’s bad for the city,” he said of the shooting, which has sparked two days of looting and protests and prompted the city to institute a curfew starting at 9 p.m. Wednesday. “It’s bad for the cops. It’s bad for everybody involved.”
