the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
Feb 6, 2023
Police in Huntington Park, California shot Anthony Lowe, a black double amputee, 10 times, killing him.
The cops say that earlier, Lowe left his wheelchair and stabbed another man with a 12-inch butcher knife. When they arrived, they claim Lowe ran back to his wheelchair and fled in the wheelchair. A video someone shared on Twitter, however, shows Lowe leaving his wheelchair behind and crawling away as cops chased him with their guns drawn.
The cops claim Lowe charged at them with the knife. A witness stated that was not the case.
The cops also said they assumed Lowe was homeless, but he was living with his mother at the time of the incident and was carrying identification.
It’s entirely possible Lowe was dangerous enough to have stabbed the victim, who suffered a collapsed lung and internal bleeding. For the cops, however, to justify shooting Lowe, a double amputee with no prosthetics, outside of his wheelchair and armed only with a knife, because he was an imminent threat to them is complete nonsense. Does anyone believe they couldn’t have protected themselves long enough to eventually subdue him? Or that they couldn’t have done anything short of shooting him 10 times?
So far, the only action taken against the cops is that they’ve been placed on administrative leave without pay. Lowe’s family is pursuing legal action against the cops and local activists have begun protests and rightfully so. Yet this is just one more example of how quick the cops can be to shoot to kill, even when they’re under no real threat.