On Wednesday, a bipolar Brooklyn black man was shot and killed by police after he reportedly “took a two-handed shooting stance” and pointed a metal object at them.
According to New York Daily News, the incident occurred around 4:45 pm after officials received calls about a black man in a brown jacket, waving what was described as a silver gun. When the officers arrived at the corner of Utica Ave. and Montgomery St., police say the man, who has been identified as 34-year-old Saheed Vassell, pointed the object at them.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
According to reports, the officials arrived at the scene about two minutes after calls came in at around 4:40 pm, 27 seconds later, officials called for an ambulance. Although officials refused to further explain the timeline of the incident, a witness in the area claimed the officers hopped out of their car and fired without warning.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Four officers, three of which were in plain clothes, fired 10 shots at Vassell, striking him several times. He was then rushed to a local hospital, where he died.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
No gun was found at the scene, but Vassell did have a metal object, which turned out to be a metal pipe with a knob on the end.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
“This was not an EDP (Emotionally Disturbed Person) call…this was a call of a man pointing what 911 callers felt was a gun at people on the street,” the chief continued. “When we encounter him, he turns with what appears to be a gun at the officers. We have to stay straight on the facts with this incident today.”
Problem is, none of the officers were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting, but the chief did show the blurry surveillance photo of Vassell pointing the pipe prior to the encounter with police.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The incident comes just days after an unarmed Stephon Clark was shot in his backyard in Sacramento, California.
