US cops shoot double amputee as he flees on stumps

Police shot Anthony Lowe Jr as he attempted to flee from them on the stumps of his legs. Photo / Twitter

A confronting video has emerged of US cops shooting dead a double amputee as he attempted to flee from them on the stumps of his legs.

Three cops from Huntington Park Police Department in California were filmed firing at least eight shots at Anthony Lowe Jr, a 36-year-old father of two.

Police claimed Lowe had just stabbed someone unprovoked, and was trying to run from the officers - who say they feared he would hurl the butcher’s knife he was carrying at them.

In the clip, Lowe can be seen jumping from his wheelchair, taking the knife with him.

One of the officers attempts to tase him, before the officers - none of whom have been named - draw their guns and continue the pursuit.

Huntington Park, California police officers shoot dead Anthony Lowe Jr, a double amputee man who tried to run away from them on the stumps of his legs. The cops said they were afraid Lowe would throw the knife he had at them.

— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) January 31, 2023

Lowe’s family is now demanding answers, as they claim the amputee was “murdered” and “excessive force” used against him.

“They murdered my son, in a wheelchair with no legs. They do need to do something about it,” mother Dorothy Lowe told a press conference.

A second police car arrives, carrying a third cop. Within 15 seconds of the third officer arriving, they fire multiple shots, shooting Lowe in the upper torso.

Lowe falls to the ground, landing on his stomach, before he is handcuffed. He died at the scene.

“The suspect was tased at least twice by Huntington Park Officers but the deployment of the taser was ineffective,” a statement from the LA County Sheriff’s Office said.

“The suspect attempted to throw the butcher knife at the officers again, resulting in an officer-involved shooting.”

Huntington Park Police Department said in a statement its officers were responding to a report of a stabbing.

Responding officers found a victim suffering from “a life-threatening stab wound resulting in a collapsed lung and internal bleeding”, the statement said.

The victim described the attacker as a black man in a wheelchair who “dismounted the wheelchair, ran to the victim without provocation, and stabbed him in the side of the chest with a 12-inch butcher knife” and then fled the scene in his wheelchair, Department said.

The family told the LA Times that Lowe lost the lower halves of both legs recently, following a different altercation with police in Texas.

He had been living with his mother as a result of the injury.

On the day of his death, she says he’d told her he was going to McDonald’s.

Lieutenant Hugo Reynaga of the LA County Sheriff’s Office said the officers involved had been placed on leave “for a few days” as they underwent psychiatric evaluation, but no disciplinary action had been taken.

The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident, as is standard procedure for shootings involving their officers.