Police in Brooklyn shot and killed a suspect in Crown Heights after he pointed a pipe at them, which they thought was a gun.
Four officers responded to calls of possibly armed man. They encountered 34-year-old Saheed Vassell on Utica Avenue and Montgomery Street.
“The suspect then took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed an object at the approaching officers, two of whom were in uniform,” NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.
Vassell was taken to Kings County Hospital where he was pronounced dead. A pipe was recovered at the scene.
Some in the Crown Heights community are upset. They said Vassell suffered from bipolar disorder and was harmless. They want to know why officers shot him.
“This was not an EDP call. This was not an emotionally disturbed call. This was a call of a man pointing what 9-1-1 calls and people felt was a gun at people on the street,” Monahan said.
None of the police officers involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras. The NYPD has released a photo from a surveillance camera, appearing to show Vassell running down a street and pointing the pipe at someone.
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