October 30, 2020•Statement
Disability Rights Pennsylvania Statement on the death of Walter Wallace, Jr.: Calls on Police to End the Shooting of Mentally Ill Pennsylvanians
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2020
Contact: Peri Jude Radecic, Chief Executive Officer
Disability Rights Pennsylvania
301 Chestnut Street
Suite 300
Harrisburg PA, 17101
Phone: 1.800.692.7443
E-Mail: pradecic@disabilityrightspa.org
Disability Rights Pennsylvania Statement on the death of Walter Wallace, Jr.: Calls on Police to End the Shooting of Mentally Ill Pennsylvanians
Earlier this week, Pennsylvania witnessed another tragic death of a Black man with mental illness because police responded with gunfire instead of crisis intervention. The latest event occurred in Philadelphia when police shot Walter Wallace, Jr., a man diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Interviews with the family disclose they had called 911 for an ambulance, not the police. A video released on social media taken at the scene show Mr. Wallace walking towards the officers holding what appears to be a knife as officers retreat backwards and fire repeatedly.
Now a community in Philadelphia is in a predictable crisis as black people with mental illness and their families continue to wonder who they call when there is a mental health crisis in their families. The options for Black, Indigenous, and people of color in the midst of a mental health crisis such as this cannot end in death.
Black Lives Matter. We have to find another way to respond when crisis intervention is needed. Shooting black men in a mental health crisis is not the answer. We must ensure that people with mental illness have access to community-based services and supports. We must also ensure first responders have adequate knowledge, evidence-based training, and skill development on how to handle all crises to avoid unnecessary escalation, arrests, incarceration, and shootings.
Disability Rights Pennsylvania calls on Philadelphia to better serve individuals with mental illness, to reform the police department so that all officers learn crisis intervention, and to be sure justice is served through the investigation into the shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr.
Disability Rights Pennsylvania (DRP) is the statewide protection and advocacy agency for Pennsylvanians with disabilities. For over 40 years, DRP has protected and advocated for the rights of people with disabilities so they may live the lives they choose, free from abuse, neglect, discrimination, and segregation.