Shocking moment police shoot dead double amputee as he tries to escape on his stumps

31 January 2023, 17:49

California police officers shot dead a double amputee last Thursday as he tried to get away from them on his stumps.

Daniel Lowe, a 36-year-old father of two, was shot dead in Huntington Park. Officers were seen firing at least eight shots at him, according to reports.

Police claimed Mr Lowe had just stabbed someone with no provocation, and was trying to run away from police.

Shocking footage posted online shows him shuffling away from police down the pavement.

The video shows him standing in front of two officers next to his wheelchair, which he had jumped out of.

LA County Sheriff's department said that local officers, responding to a stabbing call found "a male adult stabbing victim who gave the description of a male black adult suspect in a wheelchair and his last seen direction of travel."

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Having found Mr Lowe, they "attempted to detain the suspect [and] the  suspect retrieved a 12” butcher knife from his person and threatened them by attempting to throw the knife at the officers."

The Sheriff's department added: "The suspect was tased at least twice by Huntington Park Officers but the deployment of the taser was ineffective. The suspect attempted to throw the butcher knife at the officers again, at which time an officer involved shooting occurred. 

"The suspect was struck by gunfire in the upper torso. He was treated on scene by Los Angeles County Fire Department paramedics and pronounced dead. A butcher knife was recovered at the scene."

The police involved have been placed on leave, Lt. Hugo Reynaga of the LA County Sheriff's department said.

Mr Lowe's family have called for answers from the department.

"They murdered my son, in a wheelchair with no legs," his mother told reporters. "They do need to do something about it."

He lost the lower half of his legs in a different incident with police in Texas, and had been living with his mother as a result.

It comes after the killing of black man Tyre Nichols at the hands of five black police officers earlier this month, which caused widespread outrage.