Huntington Park police officers who shot double amputee holding knife won't face charges, prosecutors say
Two Huntington Park police officers will not face any criminal charges for fatally shooting a double-amputee who had allegedly stabbed and wounded a man just minutes earlier, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced Tuesday.
A 28-page report from the District Attorney's Office stemming from an investigation into the Jan. 26, 2023, shooting of Anthony Lowe concluded that "the evidence demonstrates Lowe, despite his physical limitations, presented an imminent deadly threat to the officers and other people in the area."
"Based on the facts and circumstances presented, it cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers lacked a reasonable belief that the use of deadly force was necessary to defend against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officers or others, and to apprehend a fleeing felon," according to the report involving the 36-year-old man's shooting by Officers Joshua Volasgis and Paul Munoz in Huntington Park.
The report cited Lowe's "dangerous and violent actions prior to the shooting," noting that the officers located him within about five minutes after he allegedly got out of his wheelchair and stabbed a man in the chest and that he was "wielding a knife in a menacing and threatening manner."
"At that moment, it was reasonable for them to believe, despite Lowe being a double-amputee with physical limitations, Lowe nonetheless had the present ability to complete a violent assault with a knife. That belief was substantiated when Lowe displayed his strength and agility to the officers by walking away from them quickly on his knees while making violent slashing motions with his knife," according to the report.
Lowe had been paroled from a California state prison in April 2022 for crimes including robbery, and his legs were amputated below his knees after he jumped from a Texas freeway overpass in July 2022 following a lengthy standoff with Harris County sheriff's deputies, according to the report.
The report noted that the officers "attempted to deescalate the situation by overturning Lowe's wheelchair, ordering him to drop the knife and ultimately Tasing him twice, all of which were ineffective."
Volasgis and Munoz fired their service weapons at Lowe as he raised a knife above his head and appeared to be in the act of throwing it at a third officer, according to the report.
The officers' contact with Lowe and his shooting were recorded on surveillance video from an adjacent medical facility, and an autopsy determined that he had methamphetamine in his bloodstream, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Authorities subsequently discovered that Los Angeles police had been called two weeks earlier by the man's mother, who reported that he had recently been released from a 72-hour mental health hold and that she was concerned that he was suicidal, according to the report.
An investigation conducted by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department included the review and analysis of surveillance videos, 911 and dispatch recordings, interviews of witnesses, crime scene diagrams, medical records and information from court files involving lawsuits filed in connection with the shooting and information provided by attorneys representing family members, according to the District Attorney's Office.
In a statement, Hochman said, "Although Mr. Lowe was a double amputee, he had the ability to maneuver quickly and posed a serious danger to the responding officers. This was a tragic set of events that was spurred on by Mr. Lowe's dangerous actions that forced both officers to make a split-second decision to use deadly force."
In response to the District Attorney's findings, Huntington Park officials said they acknowledged the independent review and the legal conclusion.
"This review reflects a thorough and independent evaluation of the facts, evidence, and applicable law," Hungtington Park Police Chief Cosme Lozano said in a statement. "As with all officer-involved incidents, this matter was subject to an external review process, and we recognize the importance of that process in ensuring accountability and adherence to the rule of law."
City officials noted that the D.A.'s determination applies only to the criminal investigation and does not affect any civil litigation related to the shooting.
