‘White racist cops got my own dad’: Walter Wallace’s young son speaks out

The young son of Walter Wallace, a black man shot and killed by police in Philadelphia on Monday, has spoken of his memories of his father, telling a press conference: “white racist cops got my own dad."

Wallace, a 27-year-old father of seven who had married his girlfriend Dominique on October 2, and had a daughter on the way, died on Monday afternoon.

Police said that Wallace, who has a history of mental illness, had a knife on him when the two officer opened fire, each firing seven rounds.

On Tuesday night Wallace’s son - the oldest, according to reports - addressed the crowd.

“So we would always hang out, would always go places and we would always play around,” the young boy said.

"And he looked to always teach me how to be a man. And white racist cops got my own dad. And black life still matters.”

A video of the encounter with police showed Wallace approaching two police officers who had drawn their guns and warned him to put down the knife. 

The officers were backing up before the camera cut briefly away as gunfire erupted and Wallace collapsed.Wallace suffered from bipolar disorder, and his psychological difficulties were relayed by his wife to the officers who encountered him before the shooting, a lawyer for his family said.

"I was telling police to stop. 'Don't shoot my son, please don't shoot my son,'" Wallace's mother, Catherine Wallace, said. "They paid me no mind, and shot my son."

Advocates of police reform say officers are too often called to scenes where social workers might be more helpful.

Tension has gripped the streets since Monday's deadly police shooting.

Hundreds of marchers demanding racial justice periodically skirmished with and cursed at police through the night and into early Wednesday, as Philadelphia became the latest flash point in the United States on issues of race and police use of force.

Tuesday's rallies began peacefully but grew confrontational as darkness fell, just as on the previous day.

Police turned out in force to cordon off a West Philadelphia commercial district that was looted the previous night.

But looters broke into business elsewhere, in the city's Port Richmond section, aerial news video from WPVI television showed. At other times, police in riot gear shoved jeering protesters back from barricade lines.

The dead man's father, Walter Wallace Sr., appealed to people to "stop the violence" out of respect for his son and family.

"I don't condone no violence, tearing up the city, looting of the stores, and all this chaos," he told reporters and a gathering of people. "It's an SOS to help, not to hurt."

He also called for "justice" in a case still being investigated.

The unrest in Philadelphia follows that in other cities where police have killed Black men.

Tensions have stayed high at demonstrations across the nation since the May 25 death of George Floyd after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

The scene in Philadelphia resembled those in Minneapolis and other cities in recent months: a peaceful protest gives way after dark to looting and clashes with police.

The events have been leveraged for political purposes in the campaign for next Tuesday's presidential election, with liberals arguing for racial justice and police reform while conservatives decry the chaos and property damage.

Philadelphia and its largely minority population ranks as the largest city in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state in the race between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden.

Philadelphia police have yet to detail the night's arrests and injuries. Unrest the previous night had injured 30 officers and led to 90 arrests, they said.