On Thursday, Andrea Cabral made her weekly appearance on Boston Public Radio and weighed in on the police killing of Walter Wallace Jr. in Philadelphia on Monday.
The former Suffolk County sheriff criticized the two officers' handling of the situation, and said they should've been better prepared to deal with Wallace, whose family says he suffered from bipolar disorder. She noted that officers had visited Wallace's home multiple times on the day of the shooting.
"It’s not to say that a person who is undergoing mental stress might not still present a threat. But where is the effort to avoid the knee-jerk reaction of pulling your gun?" she asked.
Wallace had been brandishing a knife and walking towards the two officers, but Cabral said there are countless instances of police officers handling similar situations differently when white people are involved.
"There are conscious choices that are being made every single day, based on who is the subject of that 911 call," she said. "You can’t get away from it, it’s right out in the open."
Andrea Cabral is the former Suffolk County sheriff and secretary of public safety. She's currently the CEO of Ascend.
