New York police shoot knife-wielding man dead near Times Square

New York police shoot knife-wielding man dead near Times Square

usnews.nbcnews.com

New York police officers shot dead a knife-wielding man they were chasing Saturday afternoon near crowded Times Square.

Police said the man, whom they observed smoking marijuana, became belligerent when officers approached him. He threatened officers with a large knife, police said.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Let me first say that I witnessed this whole event, so I will tell it from a first person perspective.

I went shopping with my girlfriend around 7th ave and 38th street, and we saw a man come out of the subway station and harass some people, I didn't think much of it, as that kind of stuff happens all the time in NYC (lot's of crazies).

I ignored him and we went along our way, when all of the sudden I see him running down the street with a gigantic knife...maybe a butcher knife of some kind. I'm not sure why there were so many police in the area, but I guess it was luck.

He started walking backwards with the knife, and they maced him...it did not seem to stop him for a second. After that a ton of people started walking in the street, following the man, and the crowd, and I heard gunshots...the man with the knife was dead.

So honestly, I have no idea what to make out of this other than it's just another New York moment, but I thought I'd share what I saw.

I'm not sure if killing him was necessary, but the mace didn't stop him. I also don't know what happened in the seconds before they decided to shoot, because a few cops shot him at the same time I believe...so he must have tried something. There were approximately ten shots fired.

The police blocked off about 2-3 blocks, people were panicking everywhere...I had to calm a woman down because I thought she was about to hyperventilate. I was pretty calm myself, as war conditioned me to these crazy events.


There is a video in the news source, shot from a cell phone camera.

-goldcoin


usnews.nbcnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Must be dangerous shooting a gun in Times Square...

I'm surprised no one got hit by a stray if they fired around 10 times.

You do realize this could still have been a set up situation, as there were many cops there, as if something was meant to go down. Not too many people who smoke the peace pipe are violent, however, there are definitely those who have lost their marbles in this world, so much negativity. I don't know what to think of it.

I'm truly sorry that you had to witness such a horrific event first hand. Being exposed to that kind of violence is always unsettling for a few days afterwards. at least.

While I'm sure it won't be a popular opinion, as this is a conspiracy site... a guy with a knife, in public, harassing people is, in my eyes, a legitimate situation where deadly force would apply.

~Heff

reply to post by goldcoin

It seems as if the rules of engagement are now to use a tazer first rather than verbal persuasion and if a tazer is justified then it is now OK to use deadly force. I wasnt there but it sounds like they went from mace to firearms.

Well tasers which I don't even believe in their use of, how they use them, do require close range, and a true crazed individual with a big knife, if he was in shape or really fast, could hurt someone bad.

reply to post by Unity_99


I gotta say, I like the way you think Unity.

Well I can say that shooting the gun was a risky move, but they had him cornered when the fired (see the video). However when they tried to mace him, it did hit a few bystanders.

As for the conspiracy...it is very peculiar that there were so many cops in the area. Usually there are many cops in Times Square, but that was about 6 blocks away. I would say there were anywhere between 15-25 cops chasing the man down the street.

reply to post by Unity_99

From actual police training videos I would think that 2 officers shooting taser barbs at the guy would stop him; if not, then they would have no choice.

reply to post by Unity_99

You do realize this could still have been a set up situation,

Set up why?....for what reason?

Sometimes a nutter with a knife, is just a nutter with a knife!

reply to post by goldcoin

Yes, quite risky firing an estimated 10 shots with all of the bystanders around watching. The police could have killed more than the man wielding the knife.

Incredible!!!!!

There was no other way to take this man into custody other than via termination of life.

I have in my time arrested and subdued almost 60 such offenders without so much as a Taser or a Casco baton.

Boy life has become so cheap and so disposable in some countries it's scary.

reply to post by studio500

Yes, before tasers they used to train police in the use of batons and hand to hand manuevers. I am surprised however that it wasnt a 3" steak knife brandished from a considerable distance.

Thank you to the police for neutralizing this threat. A threat was mitigated and potentially prevented the loss of life. It's too bad someone had to die. It sounds as if the police attempted less-invasive tactics and these failed. The rules of deadly force allow the police, and private citizens, to meet and exceed the force by a factor of one. It is good there was no collateral damage in this case. Police are trained to not shoot at suspects with civilians behind them. Additionally, cops usually carry .45 ACP ammo, which means lots of stopping power and little potential for over-penetration. Good job today NYPD.

Originally posted by Argyll
Sometimes a nutter with a knife, is just a nutter with a knife!

Sadly so. I remember 30 years talking with a neighbor who was a local mental health professional. One of the stories he told me was of a man who walked along our Main Street with a machete hidden in his coat. As long as he was not deemed a threat to himself or anyone else. he was allowed to do what he was doing. Kinda scary, though.

Sadly, even though we're supposed to be so knowledgeable about mental health, what with prescribing pills, it is our law enforcement, and prison system, that ultimately is too often the last person to deal with public mental health issues.

Headline should read

Cops shoot and kill mentally ill knife wielding man without following correct procedure

Obviously the cops are under a new brief of zero tolerance

Maybe this guy was supposed to have a gun but somehow when his triiger code was sent he forgot his training and picked up the knife instead

Dead men tell no stories

reply to post by magma

Cops shoot and kill mentally ill knife wielding man without following correct procedure

Could you please outline the NYPD's policy & procedure? Are you intimately familiar with this? How is a mentally ill person wielding a knife threatening people any different than a non-mentally ill person wielding a knife and threatening people? Is the danger any different?

Originally posted by Hefficide

I'm truly sorry that you had to witness such a horrific event first hand. Being exposed to that kind of violence is always unsettling for a few days afterwards. at least.

While I'm sure it won't be a popular opinion, as this is a conspiracy site... a guy with a knife, in public, harassing people is, in my eyes, a legitimate situation where deadly force would apply.

~Heff

I won't often agree with a police shooting, but from everything I have read in this thread I would agree with you. The person was needing to be neutralized, and a gun seems to be the best way.

Do NYC cops not used tasers?

Originally posted by magma
Headline should read

Cops shoot and kill mentally ill knife wielding man without following correct procedure

Obviously the cops are under a new brief of zero tolerance

Maybe this guy was supposed to have a gun but somehow when his triiger code was sent he forgot his training and picked up the knife instead

Dead men tell no stories

Well, down here we wouldn't have waited for the cops to shoot this guy.