Police in Queens tased and shot a man believed to be under the influence of crystal meth after officers said he lunged at them with a large knife, the NYPD said.
The 41-year-old man's family called police after 6 p.m., saying he was hallucinating and destroying the basement of their home in Maspeth. Police said they were familiar with not only the home involved, having been called there three times in the past week (twice on Friday alone), but with the man in particular.
The first time officers were at the home Friday was around 11 a.m. for a similar manner, with police saying he was hallucinating while high on crystal meth. The man, who has not been identified, was taken to the hospital.
Very shortly after being released from the hospital, the second call to law enforcement was made.
On the follow-up visit, officers said they tried to speak with him for about 10 minutes, attempting to convince him to go to the hospital and get help. But things only spiraled from there.
"He abruptly pulled out a large knife and yelled, 'I'm not going back to the hospital,'" NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said at a press conference.
While still armed with the weapon, he lunged toward the officer on the staircase inside the home, Monahan said. A neighbor said he saw police come rushing to the scene, and later saw a man carried out on a stretcher.
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The officer who was lunged at fired a taser, while another officer fired two shots, both striking the man. He was listed in critical condition at the hospital he so desperately tried to avoid.
None of the officers were hurt, police said. An investigation is ongoing.
