After a lull, the fear of a new conflagration has not disappeared in Philadelphia. A curfew was imposed again on the evening of Friday, October 30, as National Guard forces were deployed in the main metropolis of Pennsylvania after protests and riots sparked by the death of a black man shot by police on Monday.
“The curfew will come into effect tonight, from 9 pm to 6 am”, tweeted City Mayor Jim Kenney. “People will only be able to go out to work, if they need medical or urgent help, or to cast their ballot”, he added. A similar curfew had already been introduced Wednesday evening, then lifted Thursday.
The mayor (Democrat) added that the National Guard had been “Deployed near strategic government buildings or other infrastructure”. Units could also be, if necessary, “Sent to commercial areas”, theater of looting in recent days.
While this predominantly Democratic metropolis is already tense with the approach of Tuesday’s presidential election, the city councilor stressed that the presence of the National Guard was not “Not linked to the elections”, But “To the riots this week”.
The measures come as Philadelphia expects more protests this weekend, amid pre-election tensions and a further rise in Covid-19 cases. The protests began on Monday evening, after a video was posted on social media showing the death of a 27-year-old black man, Walter Wallace Jr, shot dead in the street by two police officers at West Philadephia.
Release of new images scheduled for November 4
Police, responding to a family dispute call, said they ordered the man to throw the knife he was armed with. According to her, Walter Wallace refused to comply with the injunctions of the agents. But according to the family lawyer, the man suffered from bipolar disorder which, in view of the images of the on-board webcams of the police officers, were “Clearly” noticeable during the drama.
These images have not yet been made public. The mayor said on Friday, after consulting with the family, that they would air on November 4, “Hoping that the delay will help ease tensions and broadcast these recordings in a constructive way”. The two police officers, whose names have not been released, were suspended and an investigation was opened.
The Wallace family, @DA_LarryKrasner, @PPDCommish, and I have agreed to release the body-worn camera footage and 91… https://t.co/f7BFCSBygj
The protests and looting have added to the tensions around this key state, where Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, have a series of electoral meetings. The Republican president denounced the violence as an example of the inability of large Democratic cities to maintain order.
