The Philadelphia Police Department has released police bodycam video and 911 calls from last month’s fatal shooting of 27-year-old West Philadelphia resident Walter Wallace Jr. by two police officers, which prompted days of protests and civil unrest in the city.

The graphic video includes footage of the moment the police officers arrived at Wallace’s residence at 61st and Locust, Wallace exiting his house and walking outside, apparently holding a knife, the moment of the shooting and the aftermath when bystanders rushed to help Wallace. A woman can be seen trying to intervene and someone can be heard screaming “He’s mental!” before he was shot. The full video is available here.

Wallace’s family said earlier that he was going through a mental health crisis when 911 calls were made on Monday afternoon, Oct. 19, asking for help because he was reportedly assaulting his parents. The calls were placed by Wallace’s relatives and a concerned neighbor.

The bodycam video and 911 calls were released following mayor Jim Kenney’s call for transparency in the investigation of the shooting. Wallace’s family lawyers said the family do not want the officers to be charged because they were not properly trained to deal with a mental health crisis and did not have the right equipment (like tasers).

Police identified the officers as 25-year-old Sean Materazzo, who has been with the department since 2018, and 26-year-old Thomas Munz, who has been with the department since 2017.

Two investigations of the shooting are currently underway: an internal investigation the the police department and a criminal investigation by the District Attorney’s office.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw has announced a series of initiatives to improve police response the mental health crises, including training for 911 call takers and dispatchers to identify a mental health crisis call and send officers trained in crisis intervention. They are also planning to embed a clinical staff worker to work alongside police. Another plan includes providing every officer with a taser by 2025. The department will ask for more funding from the City to purchase more tasers (2300 are currently in use, but a total of 4,500 are needed).

Following the police bodycam footage release on Wednesday evening, Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) issued a statement. Below is an abbreviated version (the full version is available here):

“The body camera videos and 911 calls released today confirm what we already knew to be true: Walter Wallace Jr. lost his life unnecessarily. From beginning to end, PPD appeared to be ill-equipped to handle the situation. Officers made no attempt at de-escalation and acted hastily, using the highest level of force available to them.

Walter Wallace Jr. was a Black man, and this incident demonstrates that Black lives are still not protected equally in our city. Unless we address the racism that is at the root of tragedies like these, we’re bound to repeat history over and over again.

What Philadelphia needs right now is healing, reconciliation, and change. We need our public leadership to better understand the pain and trauma that Black communities are experiencing in the wake of this tragedy, and we as a city must commit to prioritizing efforts to improve police-community relations over the long term…

We must deliver justice and accountability to the family of Walter Wallace Jr., to the Cobbs Creek community, and to all Black residents of our city.“