A subway shooting has left questions on the tactics used by police officers as an alleged fare-evader was shot by an NYPD officer along with two innocent bystanders and another police officer at the scene.
According to NBC New York, a police officer was allegedly shot by a fellow policeman who also shot two subway riders and the alleged fare-evader, Derell Mickles. The incident took place at a Brooklyn subway station platform. The shooting left the shot officer with minor injuries while one of the two bystanders, a 49-year-old man, was in the hospital in critical condition after he was struck in the head.
A 26-year-old woman was also grazed by one of the bullets fired by police officers. The shot police officer was hit underneath his left armpit. He was expected to make a full recovery.
The police officers alleged that Mickles was armed with a knife.
This took place at the Sutter Avenue subway stop on the L line. The two police officers
noticed Mickles allegedly walked through an open gate instead of paying his fare at the turnstile. The cops followed him up the stairs to the elevated platform around 3 p.m. on Sept. 15. They commanded him to stop and turn around, and a verbal altercation ensued. During that time, the police officers “became aware of a knife,” according to Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey at a press conference at Brookdale Hospital.Based on body-worn camera footage, Maddrey said Mickles allegedly said to the officers, “I’m going to kill you if you don’t stop following me.”
As the train pulled into the station, the doors opened, and Mickles jumped inside. After he entered the subway car, the officers fired their Taser, but it did not stop him. They stated he then allegedly charged them with a knife, and that was when both officers shot multiple rounds at him, hitting him several times. He is in critical condition at the hospital.
Interim Police Commissioner Thomas Donlan, who just took on the role last week, made a statement about the shooting.
“We will be working through the timeline of today, but make no mistake, the events that occurred on the Sutter Avenue station platform are the results of an armed perpetrator who was confronted by our officers doing the job we asked them to do,” Donlan said.
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