Shooting in New York Police Subway in Brooklyn: Protests break out after police officer shoots man armed with knife, injuring two bystanders

Brooklyn, New York
CNN
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New Yorkers took to the streets in protest this week after the New York Police Department released bodycam footage of a police shooting involving a black subway rider armed with a knife, sparking fierce public criticism.

Four people, including a police officer and the fare dodger, were shot in the Sept. 15 incident. The incident began when a man jumped over the subway turnstile in front of two patrol officers guarding the entrance to the Brooklyn subway, evading a $2.90 fare. According to police, 37-year-old Derrell Mickles was carrying a knife and was asked to leave the station.

After Mickles passed through the turnstile and re-entered the station through the emergency exit, the two officers pursued Mickles to the subway platform, according to police. There they confronted him and repeatedly ordered him to drop his knife, but Mickles refused to comply, police said.

In bodycam and surveillance video of the incident, edited and released by the NYPD on Friday, a man identified by police as Mickles can be seen climbing into a subway car as it enters the station during the altercation, apparently in an attempt to elude police.

After a brief chase along the subway platform, Mickles is cornered and flanked by two police officers. He charges, then stops abruptly, and then the video shows the officers firing multiple shots in his direction, causing Mickles to fall into the subway car.

According to police, officers only fired their weapons after Mickles attacked them.

“Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by asking the suspect to drop the knife over 30 times and using a taser three times, all to no avail,” NYPD Deputy Chief of Operations Kaz Daughtry said in a social media post.

According to police, two bystanders and a police officer were also hit by gunfire during the incident. One of the bystanders was hit in the head by a ricochet bullet and was still in critical condition on Friday, the New York Times reported.

Mickles was arrested and charged with, among other things, aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon. He was arraigned from his hospital bed in Kings County on Friday and pleaded not guilty, according to CNN affiliate WABC.

CNN has reached out to an attorney representing Mickles for comment.

“This incident was not about fare evasion,” John Chell, chief of NYPD patrol, told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday. “This incident involved an individual under psychological stress armed with a deadly weapon protecting our officers and citizens on this train.”

Civil rights activists and some New Yorkers protesting police violence disagree.

The New York-based civil rights group Legal Aid Society said the surveillance and body-worn camera footage “failed to capture the entire NYPD melee” and that it “completely contradicts the police claim that (Derrell) Mickles 'attacked' one of the officers.”

“As the video clearly shows, Mr. Mickles stood still as NYPD officers pointed their weapons at him,” the Legal Aid Society said in a statement.

This story has been updated with additional information.