Video shows Huntington Park police shooting Anthony Lowe

Huntington Park Police released surveillance video Monday showing officers shooting dead a knife-wielding double amputee and a recording of a knifeman’s 911 call that led to the fatal encounter.

In the video, three officers from the Huntington Park Police Department approach 36-year-old Anthony Lowe, who hobbles away on the remains of his legs. He carries a knife that police say he used to stab a man and is seen raising it above his head.

Lowe grabs the knife as officers turn their guns on him, and at least one opens fire. He falls to the ground.

Police Chief Cosme Lozano said Monday that Huntington Park police officers are not carrying body cameras. The department, he said, is cooperating with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, which is investigating the shooting.

Another video released Monday shows the stabbing outside a Shell gas station on the corner of Slauson Avenue and Santa Fe Avenue. Surveillance footage shows Lowe seated in his wheelchair as a pedestrian approaches from the crosswalk. Lowe appears to jump out of his wheelchair with a knife and stabs the man in the chest. The pedestrian staggers out of camera, and Lowe waits a few seconds on the corner before crossing the street.

Lozano played the stabber’s 911 call, who identified himself as Ramiro.

“I just got stabbed in the heart,” Ramiro says with a groan.

When the 911 dispatcher asks him to describe the attacker, Ramiro says, “He has no feet.”

A few seconds later, Ramiro’s voice cuts off the call and a bystander picks up the phone and tells the control center that he saw neither the stabbing nor an attacker.

Shortly thereafter, police sirens can be heard on the call.

Dorothy Lowe, mother of Anthony Lowe, speaks at a news conference January 30 outside the Huntington Park Police Department.

(Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times)

Police said they found a man “who suffered a life-threatening stab wound that resulted in a collapsed lung and internal bleeding.” Ramiro, whose last name was not released, survived.

In surveillance video of the police shooting, Lowe rolls his wheelchair onto the sidewalk of Slauson Avenue, shown in a long shot with no sound. As Lowe steers west, two officers approach him and he recedes. An officer grabs the back of his wheelchair and throws it to the side, throwing Lowe to the ground.

It’s unclear what happens next as Lowe aims at the remains of his legs and hobbles away after a few seconds. The officers appear to have drawn their guns.

Police cruisers approach and a third officer gets out of his car and joins the other officers, guns drawn, on the sidewalk. Lowe swings the knife over his head before being shot and falling.

It’s unclear how many officers shot Lowe.

Police said they gave Lowe medical attention before paramedics arrived.

Lt. Hugo Reynaga told the Times that officers repeatedly used a taser “with no effect” before opening fire.

“He tried to run away and every time he turned around and made the motion like throwing the knife at him, they hit him,” Reynaga said. “They tried to give this guy the less-lethal taser shock. And because it was ineffective, they had to move on to something more effective.”

According to Lozano, it was seven minutes from Ramiro’s 911 call to the moment police shot Lowe.

“I trust you will be aware that I have no authority to determine whether my officers’ actions meet the legal standard of the justifiable use of deadly force,” the police chief said.

Cliff Smith, an organizer with the Coalition for Community Control Over the Police, observed the police conference with the Lowe family outside the Huntington Park Police Department.

“There is nothing that Huntington Park Police have presented to justify or cover for the execution of Anthony Lowe,” Smith said. “It just reinforces that they had a variety of avenues to arrest him and let the justice system run its course.”

The LA County Attorney’s Office would determine if the shooting was warranted. All three officers are on administrative leave pending the sheriff’s department investigation and prosecutor’s review.

“My condolences, thoughts and prayers are with the family of Anthony Lowe for continued peace and emotional healing,” Lozano said. “My thoughts and well wishes are with Ramiro who was visiting Huntington Park in search of work. My thoughts and commitment are with the men and women of the Huntington Park Police Department and the Huntington Park Community.”

Lowe’s family held press conferences about the shooting last week and announced their attorneys would file a civil suit that would result in a lawsuit against the city.

“It’s sad, really sad how the police get away with killing our African American people,” said Ellakenyada Gorum, Lowe’s cousin. “He was in a wheelchair. What else could he do?”

“I just want the truth,” said his mother, Dorothy Lowe. “Nothing but the truth and justice for my son. My son was murdered.”

Times contributor Connor Sheets contributed to this report.