Tapes, video promised in Philadelphia shooting

Top police officials says slain man’s kin to be consulted; curfew set in restive city

Protesters confront police Tuesday during a march in Philadelphia. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1029philly/
(AP/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police Tuesday during a march in Philadelphia. More photos at arkansasonline.com/1029philly/ (AP/Matt Slocum)

PHILADELPHIA -- The police commissioner in Philadelphia said Wednesday that her department will release 911 tapes and footage from police body cameras "in the near future" in the shooting death of a Black man after two nights of riots and looting that set off clashes with police and break-ins of stores on the other side of the city.

The death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was shot by police Monday after authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife.

City officials announced Wednesday that they would enact a curfew from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m.

Mayor Jim Kenney said that the Pennsylvania National Guard also would be deployed to help protect property and assist the police. The first troops were expected Friday and Saturday.

Kenney, a Democrat, said 23 officers were treated and released for injuries after objects were thrown at them during Tuesday's clashes.

Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said officials would release the body camera footage and 911 tapes after talking with Wallace's family members. She also said the department should move "as soon as possible" to integrate with mental health services.

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Outlaw said the department was caught off guard by looting in the Port Richmond neighborhood, far from the demonstrations near the shooting scene in west Philadelphia.

The clashes started after about 500 people gathered in a west Philadelphia park Tuesday evening, marching to the nearby police headquarters where officers were stationed with riot shields. Some of the demonstrators threw debris at officers, according to police.

Business owners were cleaning up damage and boarding up windows and doors Wednesday after video showed people streaming into stores and stealing on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot.

The unrest started Monday evening, shortly after Wallace, 27, was killed, and set off protests and riots elsewhere, including in Washington, D.C., the Brooklyn borough of New York City and Portland, Ore., where demonstrators held their hands in the shape of a "W" in his honor.

Police said Wallace was wielding a knife and ignored orders to drop the weapon before officers fired shots Monday afternoon. But his family's lawyer said the family had called for an ambulance to get him help with a mental-health crisis. His parents said Tuesday that officers knew their son was in a mental-health crisis because they had been to the family's house three times on Monday.

Wallace's wife, Dominique, is pregnant and was scheduled have labor induced Wednesday, according to the family's attorney, Shaka Johnson. Johnson said Wallace had nine children, two of whom briefly spoke at a news conference late Tuesday, along with Wallace's mother and father.

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Police officials said they could not confirm what information had been given to the responding officers, whether they were told about a possible mental illness or how many calls they had received for help at Wallace's address Monday. Chief Police Inspector Frank Vanore confirmed that police had received a call before the fatal encounter Monday about a man screaming and saying that he was armed with a knife.

Outlaw said earlier that the officers involved in the shooting were taken off street duty as they investigate. Outlaw said the officers' names and other identifying information, including their race, would be withheld until the department could be sure releasing the information would not pose a threat to their safety.

Neither had a Taser or similar device at the time of the shooting, Outlaw said, noting the department had previously asked for funding to equip more officers with those devices.

The two officers each fired at least seven rounds -- at least 14 total shots -- but Vanore could not say how many times Wallace was struck.

In video filmed by a bystander and posted on social media, officers could be seen yelling for Wallace to drop a knife.

Information for this article was contributed by Maryclaire Dale of The Associated Press.

A demonstrator raises a fist near Philadelphia police in Philadelphia, late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
A demonstrator raises a fist near Philadelphia police in Philadelphia, late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia police officers form a line during a demonstration in Philadelphia, late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Philadelphia police officers form a line during a demonstration in Philadelphia, late Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Items litter the ground Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, inside a Walmart in Philadelphia that was damaged in last night's protests. Demonstrators protested the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was fatally shot by police Monday after authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife. Some businesses were cleaning up damage after video showed people streaming into stores and stealing goods on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Items litter the ground Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, inside a Walmart in Philadelphia that was damaged in last night's protests. Demonstrators protested the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was fatally shot by police Monday after authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife. Some businesses were cleaning up damage after video showed people streaming into stores and stealing goods on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
A woman cleans up debris at a Walmart, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, that was damaged in protests in Philadelphia. Demonstrators protested the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was fatally shot by police Monday after authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife. Some businesses were cleaning up damage after video showed people streaming into stores and stealing goods on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
A woman cleans up debris at a Walmart, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, that was damaged in protests in Philadelphia. Demonstrators protested the death of Walter Wallace Jr., who was fatally shot by police Monday after authorities say he ignored orders to drop a knife. Some businesses were cleaning up damage after video showed people streaming into stores and stealing goods on the opposite side of the city from where Wallace was shot. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)
Protesters confront police during a march, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police during a march, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police during a march Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020 in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police during a march Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020 in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Attorney's for the Wallace family, Shaka Johnson, left, and Kevin P. O'Brien, right, speak to the media outside Walter Wallace Jr.'s home in Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Police officers fatally shot Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation the day before, an incident that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood and sparked a standoff that lasted deep into the night. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
Attorney's for the Wallace family, Shaka Johnson, left, and Kevin P. O'Brien, right, speak to the media outside Walter Wallace Jr.'s home in Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Police officers fatally shot Wallace, a 27-year-old Black man armed with a knife during a confrontation the day before, an incident that quickly raised tensions in the neighborhood and sparked a standoff that lasted deep into the night. (Jose F. Moreno/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)
A Philadelphia police officer is silhouetted behind a shield during a demonstration in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
A Philadelphia police officer is silhouetted behind a shield during a demonstration in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police during a march, Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020, in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Protesters confront police during a march, Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020, in Philadelphia. Hundreds of demonstrators marched in West Philadelphia over the death of Walter Wallace, a Black man who was killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday. Police shot and killed the 27-year-old on a Philadelphia street after yelling at him to drop his knife. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

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