NEW YORK – Officer bodycam footage released by the New York Police Department shows the moment an officer was forced to shoot and neutralize a crazed man with a single discharge of his weapon as the unhinged suspect holds his mother in a chokehold while screaming that he had a knife inside a Bronx apartment last December.
Officer Alex Morgese fired a single round that struck suspect Michael Dotel, 30, in the head mere inches away from the victim’s face during the dramatic confrontation on Dec. 23, according to footage released by NYPD.
The unhinged man who begged police to shoot him fell backward to the ground and was later pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Hospital, the New York Post reported.
According to law enforcement authorities, officers were initially dispatched to the residence in the Bedford Park neighborhood at about 11:30 a.m. after a 911 caller reported the man was on drugs, acting violently, and was armed with a knife.
On Friday, officials said Dotel held the victim in a chokehold with his right arm around her neck and his left hand applied more pressure to his right arm while the victim was losing consciousness, forcing police to use lethal force.
“Do it, she’s gonna get it,” Dotel shouted at Morgese and his partner as he used his mother as a human shield.
“Shoot me, shoot me,” he shouted in the apartment’s living room as continued to coax officers to discharge their weapons, the video shows.
At one point, Morgese asked where the knife was and to drop it. Dotel replied, “I got the knife,” footage shows.
“Drop the knife, where is it,” Morgese said again just seconds before he discharged his weapon.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said during a December press conference, “Today was a complete tragedy during this holiday season,” while commending the officers for their composure for taking actions that saved the lives of other family members.
The victim’s husband concurred with the sentiment, telling The Post at the time that officers had no other option but to shoot Dotel.
“I was standing next to the officer. The officer told him three times to (put) down the knife, let her go. He said, ‘Either kill me or I’ll kill her,’” the husband previously said.
Carlos Nieges, NYPD’s assistant commissioner for public information, said Friday in videotaped remarks that an internal investigation into the shooting remains ongoing.
Officials previously said Dotel had a history of mental illness and three open criminal cases against him at the time of the shooting.
