Walter Wallace Jr., 27, a 'family man' with many mental health crises and encounters with police
Philadelphia InquirerOct 28, 2020
A father of nine who struggled with mental illness. A quiet neighbor. An
A cousin opened the doors of her red Toyota Camry, plugged her phone into its speakers, and played one of Wallace's songs, "Black Hearted," then doubled over in the middle of the 6100 block of
Neighbors and family members sat on their steps and leaned over porch railings, swaying back and forth, their eyes closed, as the song's lyrics described police violence and the
The words played out in real life the day before, when two police officers responded to a call for help at the Wallace rowhouse and then ended up firing 14 bullets at a distraught young man who they said approached them armed with a knife.
"He was a family man," said
"He was a quiet kid," White said. "Whatever happened yesterday, that was different. That wasn't normal."
Adults with untreated severe mental illness account for one in every four fatal police shootings, according to experts. Wallace fits the pattern. He was also in and out of court throughout his young adulthood, with judges regularly ordering he receive mental health treatment as he faced charges of trespassing, resisting arrest, robbery and simple assault.
He said Wallace's family called 911 Monday afternoon for an ambulance to help a young man in crisis. Police arrived first, he said, and Wallace's wife told officers that her husband was bipolar. It was reportedly the family's third call for help that day.
"Officers who are properly trained should notice certain things when they arrive at a scene," Johnson told reporters Tuesday on the steps of the family's home. "Especially when his wife tells you, 'Stand down officers, he's manic bipolar.' "
Wallace's wife, who is pregnant, is scheduled to have labor induced Wednesday, Johnson said.
Since at least 2013, when he was 19,
During sentencing for an assault in 2016,
A robbery conviction the following year led
Wallace was charged again in March for allegedly making threats, but his trial was delayed repeatedly, along with many city court cases backlogged by the coronavirus pandemic.
The two officers told
"They were advised that he had mental health issues. I understand he had a knife, and their job is to protect and serve. By all means do so, but do not let lethal force be the means by which you de-escalate the situation," said Fitzhugh, 49.
Family members believe the officers should have used Tasers to subdue Wallace, but the officers at the scene did not have such weapons with them. About a third of the city's police force carries a Taser, according to the department.
"It didn't have to happen that way. They didn't have to shoot him that amount of times he was shot," he said. "At what point do you draw a line and say, 'OK, I'm going over a limit. This no longer falls under my job description, this is murder?' "
Fitzhugh said the family was upset to see looting break out throughout the night after his death.
"That's not being done in his name, that's not being done in his honor, and the family does not agree with that," Fitzhugh said.
White, one of the family's neighbors on Locust, said: "Mental illness is in the 'hood. He could have been helped."
It's a statement many in the community have made, as a fatal police shooting renews questions about police tactics when responding to people in mental health crisis.
Adults with untreated severe mental illness account for one in every four fatal police shootings, according to a 2015 report by the Treatment Advocacy Center, a national nonprofit focused on making treatment for severe mental illness possible. They also are 16 times more likely to be stopped by the police than other people. And while Black adults are more likely to report persistent symptoms of emotional distress, only one in three Black or
"It stands to reason that because they have so many interactions with people who are in crisis, all the training in the world can't solve that problem," Snook said. "What you're talking about is a medical concern, and law enforcement officers are not the right people to deal with that."
Because in
"You run into situations when someone has an illness that is impacting their brain, and you can't do anything unless they get sicker and act out in some way," Snook said. "When that happens, police are called, so those situations are really being set up for violence. We're not responding in the way that we should, so it's hard to expect any other results."
Later Tuesday night, outside the family home, two of Wallace's young sons stood in front of dozens of cameras and reporters, tall but clearly shaken. They praised their dad. "And Black lives still matter," one Wallace boy said, tears in his eyes
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