New York Police Department leaders are stepping up their defense of the officer who opened fire in a controversial police-on-police shooting that injured one officer and two bystanders, even as they call the incident a “tragedy.”
Police said officers warned the psychotic passenger at the start of the attack 38 times to drop the knife, tried to Taser him twice and fired nine shots at him in a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday.
“This is a fast-moving, fast-paced, stressful situation. We did everything we could to protect our lives and the lives of those on the train,” NYPD Sergeant John Chell told reporters on Wednesday.
“But again, we need to correct the public rumor that we went to the station and shot someone who didn't pay the $2.90 fare,” he said.
“That's untrue, irresponsible and wrong.”
Chell and NYPD officials have argued that officer body camera footage shows a tense two-minute, 26-second standoff with knife-wielding suspect Derrell Mickles.
The footage, which has been strongly requested by activists including the New York Civil Liberties Union, will be released by the NYPD within days, police officials promised.
Mickles, 37, had two confrontations with officers within 10 minutes, Chell said.
Chell said the man first jumped a turnstile in front of officers inside the Brownsville Police Department around 2:50 p.m.
Officers asked Mickles to leave, which he did “voluntarily,” the complaint said.
“But I must add that for some reason, as he was leaving the police station he took out a knife and opened the blade,” Chell said.
Mickles returned to the station and opened the gate to let the woman through, at which point an officer said, “Watch out, he has a knife,” Chell said, describing the body camera footage.
Officers pursued Mickles onto the subway platform, yelling at him 38 times to put his hands up and drop the knife, Chell said.
“He refused to drop the knife and at this point both officers deployed their Tasers,” he said.
“The Taser failed to stop Mr Mickles.”
“It was a complex, fast-paced, unique situation that lasted two minutes and 26 seconds, involving a mentally distressed individual, an individual with a weapon, an approaching train carrying passengers, an eight-foot wide platform and, as I said, a train running on an elevated platform.”
Mickles lunged at one officer with an 8-inch knife, then turned and attacked the other officer, Chell said.
“That's when they both fired their guns, hitting Mr Mickles,” he said.
Bullets also struck a bystander, Gregory Delpech, 49, who is currently in critical condition, and another strap attendant.
Officer Edmonds Mays, who provided medical treatment to Mickles, was also shot in the armpit, Chell said.
Mickles is charged with attempted first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, two counts of criminal menacing and two counts of theft of services.Mickles is charged with attempted first-degree assault, unlawful possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, two counts of criminal menacing and two counts of theft of services.
Police said the knife was stolen from the crime scene but has since been recovered.
Authorities say the attacker was tracked down, briefly detained and then released.
