Police shot and killed an emotionally disturbed man holding a large carving knife in East Flatbush on Monday afternoon after striking him twice with a Taser, the NYPD said.
An officer shot 32-year-old Dwayne Jeune at about 12:20 p.m. inside his fifth-floor apartment on New York Avenue between Foster and Newkirk avenues after his mother called 911, saying he was emotionally disturbed, according to the NYPD.
His mother told the operator that her son was not violent, police said. But when four officers arrived at the apartment, Jeune allegedly charged at them, holding the knife, said Chief of Patrol Terence Monahan.
One of the officers then fired two shots from a Taser, striking Jeune in the arm and chest, but he was able to fight through it and keep moving forward, according to police.
“When the Taser proved ineffective, a second officer fired at the man, hitting him in the chest,” Monahan said.
Several officers were taken to an area hospital for ringing in the ears.
Jeune’s cousin, Devon Luke, 35, said the pair grew up together and Jeune liked playing soccer.
“He never hurt anybody,” Luke said. “He was always listening to music and minding his own business. A very humble kid.”
Jeune was originally from Guyana, and came to the U.S. in the early 2000s.
“I never knew him to act out or anything like this,” Luke said. “He was always laughing and smiling, having a good time.”
Police had been called to Jeune’s home before when he threatened a family member with a hammer in 2006 and broke two televisions, a police source said. Jeune also had five prior arrests, including one in 2008 for resisting arrest, the source said.
But Shawn Lee, who lives one floor above the man’s apartment, said he knew Jeune to be harmless.
“He was always listening to music and singing along,” Lee said. “I would never expect him to do anything like this.”
Regina Blain, 22, grew up in the housing complex nearby and said she was surprised to hear what happened.
“He’s never been a problem, and I knew him to be a really nice man,” she said. “The only thing that he would do is stomp his feet while he was walking.”
Her younger brother, 19-year-old Drew Blain, said he wasn’t surprised by the shooting.
“They’re the ones who are supposed to serve and protect,” he said about police. “And then stuff like this happens? It’s messed up.”
