The city of Philadelphia agreed Tuesday to equip all of its police officers with Tasers, a step announced on the one-year anniversary of the killing of Walter Wallace Jr., a mentally distressed Black man shot and killed by officers outside his West Philadelphia home.

Wallace’s death occurred months after the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked national outrage and reckoning over police brutality, and a pledge by departments across the country to review their practices and policies. Like nearly two thirds of Philadelphia’s police force, the two officers who shot the 27-year-old did not have Tasers.

In the weeks that followed, Wallace’s family demanded reforms, saying the officers’ lack of nonlethal options during the confrontation was among the systemic shortcomings that led to his death. Among them was equipping more officers with the weapons that would enable them to temporarily stun people.

The provision is part of an agreement following a lawsuit filed by the family in the Court of Common Pleas. Signed Tuesday, the pact states that the city agrees to make available the necessary funds to purchase an [electroshock weapon] for every patrol officer; require officers to wear their Tasers when in uniform; and provide all officers with training on the use of the Tasers “sufficient to ensure that all such officers have the training, knowledge and experience to properly operate” them.

Wallace was holding a knife when the officers arrived on the scene. When he ignored their demands to drop the knife and moved toward one officer, they fired 14 shots.

In a statement, lawyers for Wallace’s family said his relatives continue to mourn his “unnecessary and tragic death” and seek more reforms for the city.

“It is their overwhelming desire that these reforms will lead to a safer City for all citizens and ensure that no family will be forced to endure the tragedy of the loss of a loved one during a mental crisis,” they said in a statement.

Equipping all Philadelphia officers with Tasers had been a recommendation made by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2015.

In a statement, Council President Darrell L. Clarke said the agreement to equip every officer with a Taser “is the right decision for Philadelphia. The training requirement on how to use these devices is equally important. We thank the Wallace family for its role in this settlement with the city.”

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