The NYPD says the danger started the second police stepped off the elevator and moments later an officer pulled the trigger. Wale Aliyu reports.
What to Know
- The NYPD is investigating after officers shot an unarmed man in the hip inside a building in Harlem Tuesday
- Officers had been responding to a report of a man with a gun and spoke with a witness who gave a description of the man, NYPD says
- The man refused to take his hands out and then said he had a gun and took a shooting stance; he is in stable condition
Police officers responding to a report of a man with a gun inside a building in Harlem shot a person who turned out to be unarmed, officials said.
Police were called to 234 West 114th St. just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, and spoke to a witness who described a man with a gun on the fourth floor, NYPD Chief of Patrol Rodney Harrison said.
Officers went to the fourth floor and found a 34-year-old man matching the descriptions of the gunman, Harrison said. They ordered him to take his hands out of his pockets, but he allegedly refused and said he had a gun. The man then took a shooting stance and pointed an object at the officers.
One officer fired three rounds at the man, hitting him once in the hip. The man was taken to St. Luke's Hospital in stable condition.
The incident was captured on police body cam. No weapon was recovered, and it's not clear what the suspect was holding.
Neighbors in the building said they heard the commotion from their apartments.
Local
"I didn't know it was police. Nobody said it was police on the floor or anything," said Jay Thompson, who said officers showed up two doors down. "So when I peeked my head out after the shots were going on, that's when I see police on the floor, and they were moving all erratic and scary and jumpy."
Police said the man who was shot was visiting his parents in the building, but his mother had an order of protection against him and he shouldn't have been there in the first place. But residents in the building had other questions, like the use of force in the situation.
"Dude is a very good person, and I feel like they could've handled the situation different," said Mary Deyo.
Thompson added, "He doesn't bother nobody. He doesn't say much. When you do see him, he's quiet."
Another neighbor said, "You guys are supposed to protect and serve. Don't just go on shooting somebody."
No officer was injured. The NYPD's Force Investigation Division is investigating.
