NYPD: Police Shoot Knife-Wielding Tenant Dead After Dispute With Landlord In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man is dead and three police officers were hurt after a landlord-tenant dispute in the Belmont section of the Bronx Monday night.
Police say the landlord and knife-wielding tenant got into a fight just before 8 p.m.
UPDATE: This is the knife that was recovered at the scene from the suspect. An update will be provided to the public/press later. pic.twitter.com/MQ4fbybo9H
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 30, 2018
When officers arrived at the scene near East 181st Street and Prospect Avenue they encountered the 52-year-old tenant chasing after the landlord with a combat-style knife, according to authorities.
After the two officers confronted the tenant and repeatedly directed him to drop the knife, police say the tenant turned towards the officers with the knife in his hand.
The officers then opened fire, striking the tenant. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The department tweeted a picture of the knife they say was recovered at the scene.
Several blocks away, three officers were hurt when their cruiser crashed into a utility pole as they were heading to the scene of the dispute. Their injuries are believed to be minor.
Police say the entire encounter was caught on both officers' body-worn cameras. One of the cops has two years on the job, the other has three. As CBS2's Tony Aiello reported, the reaction in the neighborhood was muted.
"He shouldn't have had a knife, maybe he should have dropped it, but they didn't have to kill him," Belmont resident Antoine Fletcher said.
The incident remains under investigation by the Bronx District Attorney's Office, which will work to determine if the use of deadly force was justified.