Two officers in Brooklyn shot and killed an emotionally disturbed man armed with two knives who charged at them on Sunday morning, police officials said.
The 26-year-old man approached two officers assigned to the 83rd Precinct as they sat in their patrol car in front of 155 Eldert St. in Bushwick at about 2:20 a.m. on May 26.
According to Chief of Patrol John Chell, the officers had just wrapped up responding to a domestic violence incident when the man knocked on the patrol car window. When the two officers stepped out of their vehicle, the man displayed a pair of knives.
“They tried to quickly, verbally de-escalate, to no avail,” Chell said during a Sunday morning press conference at the scene.
The two officers, Chell said, first deployed their Tasers — which caused the 26-year-old man to fall, and drop one of his knives. But seconds later, he noted, the briefly stunned man got back up while holding the second knife.
Chell said the two officers again ordered the man to drop the knife, but he instead charged at them. This time, the chief said, the officers had no choice; they opened fire with their guns, striking the man multiple times.
EMS removed the man to a local hospital, where he died a short time later. Police have not yet released his identity. Chell said the two officers were also taken to a local hospital for an evaluation.
It’s the second time in six weeks that police shot and killed an emotionally disturbed man. On March 27, Win Rozario was shot and killed by 102nd Precinct officers inside his home after he charged at them with a pair of scissors during a mental health crisis. His family and criminal justice advocates, however, demanded accountability against the officers involved following the release of bodycam footage of the incident.
Chell stressed that NYPD officers do everything possible to de-escalate situations with emotionally disturbed individuals.
“When it comes to emotionally disturbed people, we do everything we can to de-escalate. But sometimes it doesn’t work out the way we want,” Chell said at the Sunday morning press conference. “It’s a very tough night for these officers, and for the family of the” man who was shot.
The NYPD Force Investigation Division, which probes police shootings, is now looking into the case.
