Two days after a Brooklyn subway shooting that left four people wounded, including a suspected fare-beater and a police officer, city officials are demanding answers as to how the NYPD friendly fire incident came to pass.
A slew of elected lawmakers criticized the police response to a Brownsville fare-beater, identified Tuesday as 37-year-old Derell Mickles, that ended with four people being shot by a transit cop — including his partner, the perpetrator, and a bystander who remains in critical condition.
There were also questions as to why the officers’ effort to use their Tasers on Mickles moments prior to the shooting ended in failure. It was the second incident in three days in which Brooklyn police officers wound up shooting a suspect after their Tasers proved ineffective in subduing their target.
Taser turmoil
Brooklyn City Council Member Sandy Nurse, who represents the community in which the incident took place, took the NYPD to task for opening fire on a man for fare evasion.
“We are outraged and saddened by [Sunday’s] reckless violence and use of force at the Sutter Avenue L subway stop near the East New York and Brownsville border. The injured and their families are in our thoughts and we hope for the speedy recovery of all who were injured by this unnecessary escalation. A person’s life is worth more than a $2.90 fare. Opening fire inside any subway station will inevitably put the public and officers at risk,” Nurse said in a statement. “We urgently need a full independent investigation and the immediate public release of the involved officers’ body cam footage to assess how this incident unfolded. No one’s life should be endangered over fare evasion.”
Police, however, noted that the Mickles allegedly charged at them with a knife before the officers made the decision to open fire. They only chose to shoot, police sources noted, after their Tasers failed, and the suspect continued to threaten them with a deadly weapon.
Faulty Tasers, according to one published report, have proven to be a problem for the NYPD and other law enforcement organizations around the country. Gothamist reported on Sept. 17 that Tasers have had a 40% failure rate over the last decade.
Mayor Eric Adams, at his weekly press conference on Tuesday, tried to explain why the Taser failure rate was so high — saying it often happens when the Taser target is wearing heavy clothing.
“Many people don’t realize the Taser is just not some magic thing that happens, the mere fact that you discharge. There are two prongs. Both of those prongs must go into the person. If there’s heavy clothing, it may not go in. And it has to make contact. And if it doesn’t make contact, it’s not going to execute,” said Mayor Adams, a former NYPD captain. “I remember many times, someone may have on a coat, they may have on a heavy sweater, if you don’t make contact, it’s not going to operate.”
Police sources, who say they have fired the device, told amNewYork Metro that the effectiveness of Tasers is not only based on the type of clothing the subject is wearing but also if they are under the influence of any substances.
Adams also floated the idea of upgrading the current taser technology that would use single prongs rather than two.
Was it worth the lost fare?
To Nurses’ point, however, other City Council lawmakers — including City Council Majority Whip Selvena Brooks-Powers and Public Safety Chair Yusef Salaam — said the greater issue was not faulty Tasers but rather unacceptable police actions on a train platform.
In a joint statement, Brooks-Powers and Salaam demanded an immediate investigation into the case and the immediate release of the bodycam footage from the officers involved in the shooting.
“There needs to be a thorough and transparent investigation into this incident as well as the release of body camera footage. Fare enforcement should never result in civilians being injured, nor should it put so many people at risk. The safety of every New Yorker—officers and passengers alike—must be our top priority and shootings like this reduce public confidence in the system. It is critical that such an incident on our subway system is not repeated or normalized,” Brooks-Powers and Salaam said.
But Mayor Adams countered that the reason why the shooting resulted from a knife-wielding suspect putting two officers’ lives in mortal danger.
Meanwhile, sources familiar with the investigation reported Tuesday that Mickles had been charged with attempted assault, theft of service, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing. He has 15 prior arrests, mostly for burglary.
Adding to an already complicated case, however, is the disappearance of the knife Mickles allegedly used to threaten the officers who eventually shot him. Police sources said the weapon wound up being stolen from the scene and has yet to be recovered.
Cops say they are now looking for a man wearing a brown sweater, baseball cap, and blue jeans, who they believe made off with the knife.
With reporting by Ethan Stark-Miller
