The New York Police Department (NYPD) is standing by its officers in a recent incident that involved a police-friendly fire shooting, which left one officer and two bystanders injured. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell has called the situation “tragic” but maintains the officers were doing their best to protect themselves and others on the scene.
The incident occurred at a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday when police officers encountered a fare-beater who was carrying a knife. The deranged man, later identified as Mickles, was warned 38 times to drop his weapon and was Tasered twice before being shot by the officers.
Chell emphasized that the shooting was not due to the man not paying a $2.90 fare but rather a result of the tense situation involving an individual in mental distress who was armed with a deadly weapon, an oncoming occupied train, and an 8-foot-wide platform. Mickles charged at one officer with an 8-inch knife before turning around to attack the other cop, prompting both officers to discharge their weapons.
The shots struck bystander Gregory Delpeche, who is currently fighting for his life, and another passenger. Officer Edmonds Mays was also injured when he was shot in the armpit while providing medical assistance to Mickles. Mickles has been charged with first-degree attempted assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of menacing, and two counts of theft of services.
Bodycam footage from the officers involved in the shooting will be released by the NYPD in the coming days, as advocacy groups like the New York Civil Liberties Union have called for its release. The knife used in the incident was stolen from the crime scene but has since been recovered, and the man who took it was briefly put in custody before being released.
