NEW YORK — A New York City police sergeant shot a man armed with a knife in East Harlem on Saturday, police say.
It happened outside the New York City Police Department’s 23rd Precinct station on East 102nd Street near Third Avenue around 5:30 p.m.
Man believed to be armed with knife shot by police outside NYPD station
According to police, someone walked into the station building and told officers that a man armed with a knife was standing outside and was trying to stab a group of people.
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A uniformed sergeant and two officers left the station and saw a 36-year-old man running along the sidewalk, allegedly trying to stab someone.
According to police, officers told the subject to drop the knife several times, but he continued to chase the victim and lunged at one of the officers.
According to police, he then lunged at the second officer, who deployed a Taser, but that had no effect on him.
“As the officer fired the Taser, the man then swung the knife at the officer, missing her face by just inches. The sergeant, seeing the man trying to take the officer down, has no choice but to discharge his firearm. to fire,” said NYPD Assistant Chief. said Ruel Stephenson.
Police say the sergeant fired one shot, hitting the man in the buttocks.
The suspect was arrested and transported to a local hospital where he is reportedly in stable condition. He is expected to be fine. Charges are pending.
The officers were also taken to a local hospital for evaluation. No civilians were injured.
Investigators found a knife at the scene.
NYPD describes a “chaotic and fast-paced” situation before the shooting
Stephenson says the entire incident — from the moment the sergeant and officers saw the suspect to the moment the shot was fired — lasted just 34 seconds.
“The situation was extremely chaotic and fast-paced,” Stephenson said.
Police say the shooting was captured on NYPD body cameras, and security camera footage reportedly shows the suspect attempting to stab a group of people before officers arrived.
“This police station is the most subdued police station in the country. We use violence as a last resort. Unfortunately, all our efforts today to de-escalate this rapidly evolving incident, which lasted 34 seconds, were unsuccessful,” Stephenson said. .
Police say the three officers have a combined 44 years of experience.
The investigation is still ongoing, but police suspect that the situation started when the suspect got into an argument with four other people. It is unclear whether they knew each other.
According to police, the suspect had two previous encounters with police in May. In both incidents, he was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.
