NYPD sergeant shoots knife-wielding man outside East Harlem police station
NEW YORK -- A New York City police sergeant shot a man who was armed with a knife in East Harlem on Saturday, police say.
It happened around 5:30 p.m. outside the New York City Police Department's 23rd Precinct station on East 102nd Street near Third Avenue.
Man allegedly armed with knife shot by police outside NYPD station
According to police, someone walked into the station house and told officers there was a man outside who was armed with a knife and was trying to stab a group of people.
A uniformed sergeant and two officers left the station and saw a 36-year-old man running down the sidewalk, allegedly trying to stab someone.
Police say officers told the individual to drop the knife multiple times, but he continued to chase the victim and lunged at one of the officers.
According to police, he then lunged at the second officer, who deployed a Taser, but it had no effect on him.
"As the officer discharged the Taser, the male then swung the knife at the officer, missing her face by mere inches. The sergeant, seeing the male trying to slash the officer, has no choice but to discharge his firearm," NYPD Assistant Chief Ruel Stephenson said.
Police say the sergeant fired one shot, striking the man in the buttocks.
The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital, where he is reported to be in stable condition. He is expected to be OK. Charges are pending.
The officers were also taken to a local hospital for evaluation. No civilians were injured.
Investigators recovered a knife at the scene.
NYPD describes "chaotic and fast" situation before shooting
Stephenson says the entire incident -- from the moment the sergeant and officers saw the suspect to the moment the shot was fired -- lasted only 34 seconds.
"The situation was extremely chaotic and fast," Stephenson said.
Police say the shooting was captured on NYPD body cameras, and footage from security cameras allegedly shows the suspect trying to stab a group of people before officers arrived.
"This police department is the most restrained police department in the nation. We use force as a last resort. Unfortunately today, all of our attempts to de-escalate this fast-moving incident, which lasted 34 seconds, were unsuccessful," Stephenson said.
Police say the three officers have 44 years of experience between them.
The investigation is still ongoing, but police believe the situation started when the suspect got into some kind of argument with four other individuals. It's unclear if they knew each other.
According to police, the suspect had two prior encounters with police in May. In both of those incidents, he was taken to a local hospital for a mental health evaluation.