HUNDREDS of protesters flocked onto the streets of Philadelphia this week to demand justice after police fatally opened fire on a black man suffering a mental-health crisis.

Police said they shot Walter Wallace Jr on Monday because he would not drop a knife he was holding.

The 27-year-old father of eight children had bipolar disorder, which his pregnant wife told the officers about before they shot him, according to the family’s lawyer.

His family had called for an ambulance to help deal with his mental-health incident, but instead two police officers arrived. 

On Monday, more than 300 people took to the streets of the US city in protest, with 91 arrests made. One officer was in hospital with a broken leg after being struck by a truck.

Marches began peacefully on Tuesday with 500 people gathered at West Philadelphia park but became confrontational after officers in riot gear arrived in squad cars and buses and on bikes, and used the latter to shove protesters back from barricade lines. 

Protesters tried to build makeshift barricades using bins, according to local reports. Police used pepper spray and batons after claiming they were attacked by demonstrators.

Philadelphia police said it was expecting more protests yesterday (WED) after the Star went to press, and was taking precautions to keep order.

The protests follow the Black Lives Matter demonstrations which were sparked after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in May.

President Donald Trump claimed that Philadelphia was “torn up by [Democrat presidential candidate Joe] Biden-supporting radicals” and claimed that his opponent “stands with rioters”, while he, Trump, “stands with heroes of the law enforcement.”

In a joint statement, Mr Biden and his election running-mate Kamala Harris said: “We cannot accept that in this country a mental-health crisis ends in death.

“It makes the shock and grief and violence of yesterday's shooting that much more painful, especially for a community that has already endured so much trauma.”

The pair also condemned reports of looting on Monday. 

Mr Wallace’s parents said the officers knew their son was in a mental-health crisis because they had been to the family’s house three times on Monday. 

His mother, Cathy, said that on one occasion “they stood there and laughed at us.”