Ex-wife of double amputee shot dead by police officers in Huntington Park says he wasn’t a threat

The former wife of the double amputee who was gunned down by police officers in California last week said watching the harrowing footage of his death “broke me”.

Myissha Simpson-Lowe, 39, was married to Anthony Lowe, 36, until July 2021 when they filed for divorce over irreconcilable differences.

But the mother-of-two told DailyMail.com the pair have remained friends after their split and she now wants justice for Lowe – who she said was struggling to come to terms with the recent amputation of his legs when he was killed last Thursday .

“Seeing the video broke me. I’m sorry… He was helpless. He wasn’t a threat. He couldn’t do anything. He tried to escape,” she said in an exclusive interview.

Myissha Simpson-Lowe, 39, was married to Anthony Lowe, 36, until July 2021 – who was shot dead by police in Huntington Park, California

Lowe, who used a wheelchair to get around after recently losing both his legs, was killed in a hail of 10 bullets after trying to flee from police last Thursday. He lies on the sidewalk after being shot multiple times. He was pronounced dead at the scene

She added: “I just want justice please. The fact is that this is basically a man the size of a child. What threat was that? What threat was that?

“For them to do anything, it could have been done in a non-fatal way. What happened to rubber bullets? What happened to the beanbags they used to shoot at?

“Bullets? That was not necessary. I would like to see these cops prosecuted.’

Lowe, who was confined to a wheelchair after losing both legs, was killed in a hail of 10 bullets last Thursday in Huntington Park, California.

At the time of his death, he was unemployed and living in South Central Los Angeles with his mother, Dorothy, 53.

The LA County Sheriff’s Department investigating the incident said Huntington Park police were called at 3:40 p.m. to reports of a stabbing at the 2400 block of Slauson Avenue.

When police arrived, they found a man with stab wounds to his chest – the unnamed victim remains hospitalized.

They spotted Lowe a few blocks away sitting in his wheelchair but said he produced a 12-inch butcher knife and allegedly tried to throw it at them when they tried to arrest him.

Police were called to the scene following reports of a stabbing on Slauson Ave and found Lowe a few blocks away, allegedly with a butcher knife. They claim he then tried to throw the knife at them

Lowe Jr. was carrying a large knife that police said he had just used to stab someone. After officers failed to subdue him with their tasers, officers said they feared he would throw the knife at them

Then he turned and tried to hurry away from them, holding a large butcher knife

Police said they made several attempts to stab him but opened fire when he tried to hurl the knife at them a second time.

An inquest into his death has already been completed by the LA Coroner, listing Lowe’s manner of death as homicide, while the place of death is simply “sidewalk.”

Lowe had no criminal record in Los Angeles County, but was known to police because he was arrested on April 20, 2021 on a 2007 warrant for robbery and petty theft.

The charges were all dismissed after a preliminary hearing two weeks later on May 4.

Myishha, who met Lowe through mutual friends in 2005, described the man she was immediately “in awe of” as “the kindest spirit”.

The couple married in 2011 and welcomed their now 15-year-old daughter Ar’Rian in 2005, but split in 2017.

She said: “He was the kindest spirit who would do anything in his power for anyone.

“He was loving [to Ar’Rian]. There whenever she needed to talk and whenever she needed her father.”

She added: “We were still friends. We still talked. Whenever he needed me, I was there and vice versa. It just wasn’t legal. But he was still there.”

But the mother-of-two also told how Lowe had struggled in recent months after losing his legs after his older sister Yatoya Toy, 38, described an altercation with police in Texas in an interview with the LA Times.

LA Medical Examiner, with Lowe’s manner of death listed as homicide, while place of death is simply “sidewalk.”

Myissha and Anthony Lowe married in 2011 and welcomed their now 15-year-old daughter Ar’Rian in 2005, but eventually divorced in July 2021. The mother-of-two says the exes have remained friends even after their split

Myissha said she doesn’t know the circumstances of the incident but confirmed it happened in late 2022 and that Lowe was trying to come to terms with his life-changing injuries.

She told DailyMail.com that he was not experiencing a “mental crisis” as previously reported, but was working to “start over” as an amputee.

“They didn’t say that — they said if you lose your legs, you go through something,” she said.

“You have to try to get everything back to how you can function on a daily basis, but without legs. This is tough for everyone. This is a big challenge for everyone.

“It’s just a challenge for everyone, basically having to start from scratch.”

Myissha, who works as a dispatcher for school bus company First Student Group America, says her focus now is supporting Ar’Rian as she mourns the loss of her father.

She said the teenager saw the video of her father being gunned down and was “devastated” at the loss of the man she spent a lot of time with.

Myissha told DailyMail.com Lowe had not had a “mental crisis” as previously reported, but was working to “start over” as an amputee.

Anthony Lowe Jr.’s family and friends are holding a news conference Monday to call for an investigation into his death outside of the Huntington Park Police Department

Myishha said, “It is very difficult. That’s not something you would wish on your child, not at such an early age.

“He’s 36 and she’s 15. It’s something no kid wants to go through. Not now.

The brave mum added: “It’s difficult. But I have to be strong for my daughter. Right now I’m her voice, asking her how she’s feeling and letting everyone know.

“It hurts too. Not just everyone else, she is too.”

Lt. LA County Sheriff’s Office Hugo Reynaga said the officers involved were put on leave “for a few days” but no official disciplinary action was taken.

The officers involved have not been identified.

The incident came three weeks after an unarmed 29-year-old Tire Nichols was beaten to death by another group of police officers in Memphis, Tennessee.