‘You’re going to have to kill me,’ suspect said
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But as the officers insist they have to handcuff him to take him to the police station to resolve the warrant, the man refuses to go along with their requests.
“I’m not going in cuffs,” the man told officers. “You’re going to have to kill me.”
The video shows him putting his hand inside the pocket of his sweatshirt, and at that point officers try to take him into custody.
Hawkins said prior to the man moving his hand inside his sweatshirt, officers were trying to de-escalate the situation. But officers are trained to watch for moments when people put their hands inside clothing because that may mean they are armed, he said.
The four men struggled and, after several seconds, one officer jumps back after being slashed on his arm. The video released Tuesday does not clearly show the officer being wounded. Hawkins said the department is withholding that video because it is particularly graphic. As the officer retreats, the man appears to swing the knife again at the officer’s head as he stumbles away from the officers. A second officer fired a shot from several feet away, striking the man in the chest.
Officers yelled at the man to put the knife down as he stood in the street with his hands on his knees. He eventually slumped over a nearby car. It was unclear if the man lost consciousness or could hear the officers’ commands.
Officers gave first aid to the man while the wounded officer was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital in a police car.
The injured officer has been with the department for two years after previously serving with another agency. The officer who shot the man has been with the department for more than eight years.
Hawkins praised the officers’ restraint and how they approached the entire encounter.
“This is conclusive evidence that these officers performed at a very, very high level,” Hawkins said.
City police said they would release the man’s name after his arraignment. On Monday night, he was listed in stable condition at Albany Medical Center Hospital, but his condition was not clear Tuesday.
Police said a domestic confrontation at a home Monday led to the incident. A family member on the scene said officers began to help the man move his belongings out of the apartment.
Hawkins said officers recovered a knife that was about 8 inches long with a 4-inch blade.
But the family of the shooting victim questioned why police didn’t use a stun gun to restrain him.
He is the second person whom Albany police have shot in 2022. On Jan. 24, Albany police officer James Madsen shot Jordan Young after ordering Young to drop a knife he was holding as he ran at the officer, according to police reports and body camera video from the officers involved.
Young, 32, was charged with menacing a police officer, a felony that carries up to seven years in prison upon conviction, and misdemeanor possession of a weapon.
His attorney, assistant public defender Rebekah Sokol, said on Tuesday that Young has been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at home. Sokol said she is currently negotiating with the Albany County district attorney’s office to resolve his case.
Monday’s incident, like the one involving Young, will likely be reviewed by the city’s Community Police Review Board.
Veneilya Harden, the board’s vicechair, said she and two other members reviewed the body camera footage Monday evening along with Councilman Tom Hoey, chair of the Common Council’s Public Safety Committee.
Harden said the board does not have a stance on what happened because it has not had a chance to conduct its own investigation into the entire incident. Harden added that part of the board’s larger mission is to ensure that the department is following best practices and that the public trusts the board’s processes.
“We want to look at the facts of the totality of what took place yesterday,” she said.