A machete-wielding man was shot by police in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon after the suspect had engaged in a tirade of assaults earlier in the day, police confirmed.
According to Chief of Patrol Jeffery Maddrey, police responded to a call of 30-year-old James Olla allegedly brutally assaulting a 58-year-old woman at 26 Court Street around 2:30pm. Maddrey revealed that cops found the woman badly beaten with heavy swelling, however, she was only one of several victims Olla had allegedly assaulted. The chief said that the suspect had attacked a family member earlier in the day and had also threatened a neighbor with a machete.
A lieutenant along with several uniformed officers tracked Olla down to his residence at 202 New Lots Avenue where they found him sitting on his steps and attempted to call out to him by name.
“At this point he grabs two knives. One was a rather large machete about 20 inches. The other one was a large butcher knife, and he has a knife in each hand and he starts advancing on the lieutenant,” Chief Maddrey said.
According to police, Olla refused commands to drop the weapons, resulting in the lieutenant shooting twice with at least one of the bullets penetrating the thigh area. The lieutenant reportedly called for an ambulance while the officers handcuffed Olla before deploying a medical kit. The officers were unharmed.
“He was moving very quick, and the lieutenant had to protect himself and his officers,” Maddrey added.
Olla is in stable condition and is expected to survive. Maddery also revealed that Olla is currently on federal probation.
According to police, the suspect knew the woman he attacked and had planned on meeting her prior to the assault.
Olla has been charged with attempted assault, attempted assault on a police officer, attempted assault with the intent to injure a police officer, menacing a police officer, and criminal possession of a weapon.
