NYPD released body camera footage of an officer-involved shooting for the first time ever. The shooting was the first incident ever captured on bodycam footage since the introduction of the technology to the NYPD. The incident took place on September 6th when police responded to conduct a welfare check on Miguel Richards when his landlord reported that he was acting irrationally.
When police arrived on the scene, Richards had a knife at his side and his other hand hidden behind his back. Two officers on scene tried speaking with him to get him to surrender.
“I don’t want to shoot you. Put your hand up and drop that knife,” an officer told Richards. “This is not gonna end well for you if you don’t put that knife down.”
A third officer then arrived and asked, “Wanna take him down now?” The other officers affirmed.
Despite facing somebody armed with a knife who was not showing his other hands, the officers risked their lives to attempt a Taser deployment. They moved in to the small room in close proximity to Richards while one officer had a Taser ready to deploy, and the other two officers provided lethal cover.
It was later determined that Richards’ gun was a toy gun with a laser on it.
The PBA opposed the release of the body camera footage, saying that it could taint the investigation or influence a jury if charges are brought against the officers, according to NY Post.
Their are two separate videos of the shooting. The first video is unedited and contains about 17 minutes of bodycam footage. The second video is much shorter and shows the shooting from the third officer’s camera.
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