Police in Queens fatally shot and killed an allegedly knife-wielding man during an encounter on Monday morning. More than a dozen shots were apparently fired, though police officials declined to say exactly how many rounds were unleashed.
“We were forced to defend ourselves,” NYPD Chief of Department John Chell said during a press conference that followed.
The police-involved shooting happened at around 6:20 a.m. on April 14 near the corner of 31st Street and 30th Avenue in Astoria. Officers from the 114th Precinct initially responded to the location after receiving a 911 call of a man armed with a knife on the sidewalk.
According to a source familiar with the incident, at least three frantic callers dialed 911 for help, telling the operator that an erratic individual was approaching people while holding the weapon, with one caller stating: “He is doing all kinds of crazy s#!t with a knife.”
“There were numerous 911 calls of a male with a knife acting erratically. Some of the callers thought he was going to stab someone,” Chief Chell said. “They gave orders to drop the knife. They deployed their Tasers, multiple Tasers, that were ineffective at this point.”
Chell told amNewYork that it is unclear why the Tasers failed to subdue the subject and is under investigation. Meanwhile, Chell stated that the cops were engaging with the 61-year-old man for just under a minute when the situation then escalated as he approached police.
“The man advanced himself toward the officers; they were forced to defend themselves,” Chell said. “Everything I just described to you is depicted on body-worn camera and external video from a commercial establishment.”
Video on the Citizen app showed a group of officers rendering aid to the wounded man before EMS arrived. Paramedics rushed him to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries, police sources reported just before 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Police sealed off the area of the shooting as part of the ongoing investigation, and although they did not say exactly how shots were fired, evidence markers numbering into the 30s could be observed at the scene.
Meanwhile, Chell said that the deceased man had a history of mental health interactions with police.
“He has two documented incidents of mental disorder with the NYPD,” Chief Chell said. When pressed by amNewYork, he continued: “In terms of his mental disorder, we’ll just leave it at that.”
The shooting is under review by the NYPD Force Investigation Division.
The response
A slew of progressive elected officials, including a mayoral candidate, condemned the city for failing to provide adequate mental health resources that may have aided in de-escalation. In a joint statement, Council Member Tiffany Cabán, State Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas called the death a “tragedy.”
“Our neighbor with a reported history of mental illness was shot to death by the police because the NYPD used lethal force after being unable to de-escalate a 56-second interaction with a 61-year old man holding a knife,” part of the statement read. “As we await more details, here are things we know: there are glaring gaps in our city’s mental health infrastructure. There are glaring gaps in our city’s emergency response infrastructure, particularly as it relates to New Yorkers with mental illness.”
“This is not public safety,” they added.
One police source responded by telling amNewYork that they don’t believe this reaction is a fair assessment of the situation.
While the source stated that they agreed that the incident was a tragedy, they said that officers needed to act quickly in order to prevent harm coming to bystanders and attempted to de-escalate, including use a Taser, however, were left no choice but to fire when he lunged toward them.
The source added that they feel the notion that cops did not attempt to de-escalate is not true.
Meanwhile, PBA President Patrick Hendry also weighed in, stating that the cops were out of options.
“These police officers were placed in a terrible situation,” Hendry said. “They confronted an erratic individual armed with a 14-inch knife, who was already within striking distance and advancing on them. In that scenario, ‘de-escalation’ is no longer possible. We have seen police officers or bystanders seriously injured or killed in similar situations in the past. Police officers don’t have to wait to be stabbed. They need to take action to stop the threat.”
