Philadelphia, PA – Meek Mill spoke out against the death of Walter Wallace Jr. after Philadelphia police killed the 27-year-old Black man on Monday (October 26). Meek, a Philly native, criticized cops for firing more than a dozen shots at Wallace in the fatal shooting.
“A so called ‘thug on the streets’ wouldn’t shoot a man with a small knife that many times to protect themselves…. the hood been seeing this our whole lives,” he wrote. “I posted for y’all to see a young man killed in front of his mom and coulda been resolved with a tazer or a shot or 2! Let’s help her ASAP!”
Police claim Wallace refused to put down a knife and came towards them, which led to the shots being fired. According to authorities, the cops did not have tasers.
A lawyer for Wallace’s family said they called for an ambulance to help deal with a mental health crisis. Wallace’s cousin Anthony Fitzhugh told NBC Philadelphia his late relative struggled with mental health issues.
Wallace’s mother was at the scene of the shooting, trying to calm her son. She witnessed his death and can be seen running to his lifeless body in graphic footage of the incident.
Protests and unrest have emerged in Philadelphia following the shooting. Wallace’s death has brought police brutality back to the forefront in a year which has already seen George Floyd killed by Minneapolis police, Breonna Taylor fatally shot by Louisville cops in her own home and Jacob Blake miraculously survive despite officers shooting him in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
