Philadelphia police to boost presence following shooting

Philadelphia police to boost presence following shooting

[NFA] Philadelphia will deploy additional police officers and has asked surrounding regions for law enforcement support as it braces for further unrest on Tuesday sparked by the police killing of a Black man, the police commissioner said.

Freddie Joyner has more.

The city of Philadelphia is deploying additional police officers to the streets Tuesday after a night of unrest following the police shooting of a Black man they say was armed with a knife.

Protests erupted on Monday after a bystander's social video showed 27-year old Walter Wallace being shot multiple times by two police officers who were instructing him to back off.

Thirty officers were injured during protests, some hit by bricks and other projectiles.

One officer was run over by a truck and was being treated for a broken leg.

Police commissioner Danielle Outlaw said a total of 91 arrests had been made, including 11 for assaulting officers and 76 for burglaries.

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said the video of the shooting presented "difficult questions" about the actions of the officers and that he understood the struggles of the Black community, who he said he suffered from systemic racism.

Kenney also expressed sympathy for the business owners whose shops were damaged, and said the law would be enforced.

In the months since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American killed by a white police officer - demonstrators have turned out nationwide to demand racial equality and an end to police brutality, with protests sometimes turning violent.