Family demands justice after double amputee dies in officer-involved shooting

HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif. (KCAL) - A family in California is calling for justice after a double amputee was shot and killed by police.

“My son was murdered. I don’t want nobody to react on it. I just want y’all to get justice,” Dorothy Lowe said.

Dorothy Lowe’s son 36-year-old Anthony Lowe Jr. was shot and killed by Huntington Park police officers on Thursday.

Moments before, a bystander caught the confrontation on video. The alarming video shows Anthony Lowe Jr., holding what appears to be a butcher knife, trying to get away from police on what is left of his legs.

“They refuse to give everything we need to know what really happened to him,” his cousin, Ellakenyada Gorum, said. “He was not homeless, he was loved. And it’s sad, really sad, that they’re getting away from killing our African American people, just getting away with it. He was in a wheelchair. What more could he do? What more could he do?”

Police officers said they got a call at 3:45 p.m. Thursday from a man saying he was stabbed by a man in a wheelchair. When officers arrived, they found Anthony Lowe Jr. with a knife, they say he got out of his wheelchair and attempted to get away.

In a statement, the Huntington Park Police Department says officers tried twice to deploy tasers but were unsuccessful in subduing Anthony Lowe Jr.

After he continued to threaten officers with the knife, an officer-involved shooting happened.

“Be realistic about this, what could he have possibly done in a wheelchair?” his aunt, who did not provide her name, said. “We want justice.”

Anthony Lowe Jr.’s family and friends also want answers as they say they have heard little from the police department or the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is assisting in the investigation.

“You guys knew your lives wasn’t in danger. He’s running on his limbs. How cold-hearted could they be?” Gorum said.

While the family struggles to make sense of their loss, they are remembering Anthony Lowe Jr. as a father, brother, son and friend.

“He got a strong family that loves him, so we want justice for our whole family,” his sister Yatoya Toy said.

It’s not clear if there is any body cam or dash cam video of the shooting,

A nearby business has security video of the officer-involved shooting and has handed the video to the sheriff.

At this time, authorities said they are not sharing that video.

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