Police shoot and kill man in/near Times Square

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:20am

Yikes.


USA Today

Updated On: 8/12/12 at 08:20 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 9:02am

You might want to consider changing your subject line to account for the context of the actual story... given recent events, lest people think someone went on a shooting spree in Times Square before they get to the link.

Just a suggestion.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 9:16am

Wow, the boards are quite touchy this morning!

Updated On: 8/12/12 at 09:16 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 9:57am

Touchy? I was trying to be polite and considerate to both you and other readers.

I'd hate for anyone living in the immediate vicinity to wake up and see this and think a mass shooting had happened in their neighborhood, especially with the recent Twitter scare.

"Shooting in Times Square" didn't seem either a smart or accurate subject line.

Jeez. Who's being touchy?

Updated On: 8/12/12 at 09:57 AM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 10:45am

Sorry! I didn't mean YOU! I had a helluva time editing that post, and I then I couldn't into BWW at all for a little while.

I didn't realize I'd already edited the part where I said I was having problems.

(Well, it wasn't inaccurate: there was a shooting.)

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 11:23am

Oh, I see! My apologies! I understand all the confusions now.

Yes, everything was down for me for about a half-hour.

N-T-yway... this is a sad story, all around.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:12pm

No harm, no foul!

(And it seems no one else cares!)

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:23pm

lol I was just thinking the same thing.

Funnily enough, I nearly posted this about 20 minutes before you did.

I guess we both like news about shooting deaths.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:33pm

I just saw some of the video taken by by standers. Don't know why they had to use deadly force. Why not just clip him in the leg or arm? Why 10 shots? According to the footage he was quite a distance away from anyone. Even if he lunged it would be quite a sprint to get into knife strking range.

ETA. Specially while there was a ring of onlookers watching the event! Luckily no one else was hit.

Updated On: 8/12/12 at 02:33 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:38pm

A cop from my facebook explained why he thinks it was necessary to shoot the man

"Yes it is. A knife is much more dangerous than a gun. You have to be at a minimum distance of 21 feet away when dealing with somebody with a knife, him lunging and running at you gives you less reaction time then him pulling a gun, placing it up and taking aim. In addition the point was to save lives and trying not to endanger the pedestrians nearby by keeping him in a secluded area. Once that was done the suspect ran at them. You cannot run around times square with an 11 inch blade and expect good things to come of it. Trained or not, cops have to worry about their own safety too. A knife will go through a vest like a hot knife through butter.The last thing anyways wanted was for him to take a hostage and then its a whole new situation to deal with, minutes prior this guy was exposing his dick to people on the subway..."

Not saying I agree. Just sharing.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 2:43pm

Having worked with Kevlar a great deal, knives don't go through it that readily! Damn you should see the trouble we have cutting it, even with razor blades.

I can see the reason to shoot him. Why not though take out his knee or ankle? He will go down REALLY fast! It is the shoot to kill I think that bothers me.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 5:34pm

Some heavy police presence around the Lincoln Center and 72nd street stops when I was there a half-hour ago. Also some very heavy congested train cars that I have to assume left the Times Square stop.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 6:08pm

I feel like everytime I'm in the city, (which is at least once a month) I'm seeing more and more officers.

Last week they were all up and down 8th avenue...on every corner for a number of blocks.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 6:43pm

When the economy is bad, crime increases. We have had some robberies/muggings here in Brooklyn Heights recently. I think the increased police presence is sort of indicative of this.

Plus we aren't really made aware of the terrorist threats. Sometimes I see an increased patrolling of the harbor by police and Coast Guard. Usually lets me know that some thing is up.

[wexy]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:13pm

I was three blocks away at the time. This has nothing to with the uptick in crime that SNAFU is correct about. This guy was just crazy.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:19pm

Yes Wexy this guy was crazy! No denying that. It is just sad that they had to kill him. The video caught by some guy on his cell phone caught 10 (? maybe 12) rounds being fired. I understand the stress of the moment but wouldn't one or two well place shots have taken him down without killing him?

I would hate to think he was killed for going off his meds and having a paranoid schizophrenic meltdown.

Updated On: 8/12/12 at 08:19 PM

[Yawper]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:36pm

Police are trained to shoot to kill, especially when they draw in cases like this where the guy is still aggressive after being pepper-sprayed. Winging a suspect just to catch and apprehend is purely for the movies and tv. The last I knew, though, NYPD still carried tasers. Maybe not all officers have them, but I noticed tasers aren't even mentioned in the news reports as an option.


(btw vehicles don't blow up like they to in movies and tv, either, unless they are bombed)

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 8:50pm

"A knife is much more dangerous than a gun."

Exactly! I never understood why it's always gun control this, gun control that. Knife control is what we need. If that Aurora Batman guy had a knife, it would have been much more deadly than it was.

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 9:16pm

Oh brother, don't get me started on semi automatic Swiss Army knives!

[Yawper]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 10:22pm

Knife v Kevlar

[Yawper]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 10:24pm

The Reality Of Knife Attack

[SNAFU]

Posted: 8/12/12 at 10:27pm

Yeah Yawper, pretty much what I have experienced! Use Kevlar alot with resins to make sculptures.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 8/13/12 at 6:16am

The man was chased down for 10 blocks. He was pepper sprayed and that failed to subdue him. He was wielding a knife, posing a threat to civilians and officers alike. He refused to comply and was shot. Deadly force is not the ideal, but this man proved through his actions that he would fight until he could not anymore.

And let me thank you all for not immediately screaming about no one using a taser. Those only go to sergeants and specialty divisions of the NYPD. These were beat cops doing the best they could to subdue a dangerous suspect in a crowded area.