New Yorkers expressed their outrage this week as demonstrators flooded the streets in protest following the release of body camera footage by the NYPD. The footage unveiled a police shooting incident involving a subway fare-evader armed with a knife which resulted in four individuals being shot. The confrontation began when a man evaded the subway fare by jumping over the turnstile in front of two transit patrol officers guarding the Brooklyn subway entry point on a Sunday.

According to police reports, the officers pursued Derrell Mickles, 37, onto the subway platform after he brandished a knife. Despite repeated orders to drop the weapon, Mickles refused to comply, prompting the situation to escalate. In the video footage released by the NYPD, Mickles is seen attempting to evade the officers by entering a subway train car before being chased back onto the platform where the officers discharged their weapons as Mickles found himself cornered.

The NYPD asserted that the officers only resorted to firing their weapons after Mickles allegedly charged at them. Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry emphasized that the officers attempted to de-escalate the situation by asking Mickles to drop the knife more than 30 times and deploying tasers, all without success. The incident resulted in two bystanders and one officer being struck by gunfire, with one bystander sustaining a bullet wound in the head. Mickles, who was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.