A man wielding a chair as a weapon was shot and killed after he tried to attack a police officer in a Coney Island church parking lot on Thursday afternoon. Now there are questions as to whether the use of deadly force was appropriate.
Police say the shooting happened outside a church, after a group of students inside reported seeing the man walk into the lot and attempt to break into a car.
Officers arrived at the scene and approached the suspect, who then picked up a wooden chair nearby and began swinging it at them. The officers screamed at the suspect to drop the chair, but after he refused he lunged at the female officer who then shot him once in the chest.
The suspect was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police say the man, who was Hispanic, had no identification on him, but he did have a cell phone. They are using the cell phone to figure out his identity.
As for the question of whether or not the use of deadly force was appropriate, according to the NYPD, in broad terms an officer can use deadly force only when that officer’s life or someone else’s life is in danger.
Investigators will now work to see if that was the case.
(Source: WCBSTV)
15 Responses
I think it was authorized. You can’t attack a cop and be expected to get away with it. At the very least, you shouldn’t be able to.
NYPD is out of control i never heard of a police dept who shoots people as much as them its unbelievable! a chair is not called armed, this is crazy enough is enough. they could have used a taser or a billy club they are also trained fighters they should have no problem taking down someone whos doesnt have a gun. i’m not being pro criminal here but its not always a criminal its people who have sugar problems who go into shock, or others not taking their medication etc.. you dont just shoot its not the answer. if it was once then give the benefit of the doubt but this is countless times already
if someone threatens a ploice officer they have to kill him otherwise there is no way to control the country – its way more dangerous if we allow people to threaten cops
let’s step out of the situation for a moment and analyze from outside….
1. our government is out of control…
2. our city (especially our mayor) (NYC) only sees green – that means dollar signs and 1 million trees
3. more traffic cops than real cops
4. the police are clearly getting more violent and protecting less
5. a man with a chair is not a threat EVEN to a cop. they can move back and let the man calm down
6. our economy is no more
7. bankruptcies all over and getting worse
8. people out of work all over
9. stress at high levels for everyone and getting worse
10. uncertainty breeds fear and panic
11. the situation is a volatile mixture waiting for a “fall guy”
12. that guy so far is mr bush
13. its not easy for this to be c”v changed to a certain group of people
if we pay attention, there are signs everywhere that it is getting too dangerous to be here. i know that I’m not the first one to say it and i know there isn’t much to do except getting out of here. the signs are getting bigger, louder and more often. I am not the only one who is scared, but we need to do something about it. Israel being the only real other choice is a very big choice and has its own set of issues…
Either way, we need to realize that if we care to pay attention, we will see that we are nearing the end. The end is dangerous for Am Yisrael, unless we deserve to be saved. 4/5ths of Am Yisrael didnt leave Egypt, and we dont want it to be the same this time around. We need to come closer to Hashem with Tshuva and start acting like mentschen to each other. Time is quickly running out. The time is right now. We need to Daven for Mashiach to come immediately as well as accept Tshuva and ACT upon it. Let’s not lose out c”v because of our laziness.
#2 eric55 The NYPD is not out of control, it’s the violent lunatics and criminals that are out of control. If some nutcase were coming at you swinging a chair and possibly striking your head you would be praying that the police were there to protect you. I for one will not miss this guy and am very grateful that the officers involved are ok. If given the choice I’d rather see him go down than any NYPD officer. Normal law abiding citizens do not behave that way and criminals should suffer the results of their actions. Reminds me of the Sean Bell shooting….get behind the wheel of a car legally drunk, disobey an officers order to stop and then try to run him over…give me a break i’ll say it again it’s the crimals that are out of control.
What about unarmed combat? I thought every officer was trained in this, or at least enough to be able to grab a chair off someone…
#6. you are 100% right that criminals are out of control; but too many times that cops use deadly force when you could of shot him in the leg; Why the chest? are they short of man power? if you have 10, 20 or 30 cops on the scene, why cant you tackle him with sticks? send two officers with riot gear and just walk right to him. We lost a Yidishe Neshama a few years ago. Lets not forget, all he had in his hand is a hammer which is at most 16 inches long. Did they realy need to kill him?
The NYPD has lowered their standards a few years ago, on who they accept, now any lobotomized person can become a cop. I remember listening to a tape by Rav Miller Zt”l, he said he remembers how in order to become a police officer you had to have a certain height and how just by walking “on the beat” they would command respect. (no need to pull out your gun, let alone shoot someone with a chair or a broom or a shopping bag) Today he said the cops are “sickly looking things”
Cadyman,
you are 100% right!! Let us not forget Gideon Busch z’l! R”L, he was unwell, but RBS”O, can someone please tell me why they had to put 41 bullets into him?!?!?!?
So every rebellious offense is now a shoot to kill? Hardly professional and what the tax payers are paying their salaries to do. Who voted for a man throwing a chair at a cop to be shot to death????
It all started when Rudy gave them the green light for everything. In every case during his time as mayor, he always jumped and sided with the NYPD before knowing the details of the story. They knew that they are protected by the mayor and police commisioner.
#12, cadyman. That is an overgeneralization. Why Rudy was very pro-police, and to his credit, he was a man of law and would not condone shooting to death a man wielding a chair. This is not even an issue of a shiny object that could be mistaken for a gun. In that case too there would be an investigation. This was a chair. Do you have a case in mind regarding Rudy that would lead you to believe this?
I have had chairs thrown at me more than once, and didnt feel as though my life was in danger.
I wonder why mace, tasering, or simply charging the subject wasnt an option. Maybe NYPD needs to rethink their policies on hiring women and wimps.
To #14,
I agree with you 100%; but what has happened is- if you have a female cop who even though the perp is only 5 feet tall, they aren’t even 5 feet.
So evertything in their mind, even a chair is lifethreating. This PC having to hire everybody, whether physically capable or not is destroying the PD.
Also maybe the NYPD should watch the show Cops.
These cops never shoot anyone unless they get shot at. Tase yes, but never shoot. They take down perps all the time without shooting them!