Police shot and killed a 26-year-old man in mental distress who had two knives Sunday morning in Brooklyn, NYPD officials said.
At around 2:20 a.m. on Eldert Street in Bushwick between Central Ave. and Evergreen Ave., two officers were sitting in their patrol car when the man tapped on the vehicle, according to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell. The man had two knives, he said.
“They tried to quickly verbally deescalate to no avail,” Chell said in a news conference Sunday morning.
Both officers used their tasers and the man fell to the ground, dropping one knife, Chell said.
The man then got up and “charged” toward the officers with the second knife, Chell said.
Both officers shot him, Chell said. This is at least the eighth person shot and killed by police so far this year.
“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,” said Chell.
In a separate incident in Brownsville about one hour later, police in an unmarked car drove into a man who was running from police on foot, Chell said. He was in surgery as of around 6 a.m. and is expected to survive, officials said.
