The NYPD on Thursday released its first-ever body cam footage of a police-involved shooting \u2014 and it includes a cop warning the deranged man \u201cyou are seconds away from getting shot\u201d just before killing him.<\/p>\n
A total of 48 minutes of footage from four officers\u2019 cameras show the tense standoff on Sept. 6 that ended with the death of Miguel Antonio Richards, who threatened cops with a fake gun and real knife.<\/p>\n
Officers Mark Fleming and Redmond Murphy from the 47th Precinct were sent to Richards\u2019 home when his landlord told police he was acting erratically, Chief of Department Carlos Gomez said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Footage shows the landlord open a door to Richards\u2019s darkened bedroom, revealing the 31-year-old standing still with a knife in his left hand and his right arm behind his back.<\/p>\n
Fleming and Murphy repeatedly order the man to \u201cput that knife down,\u201d and ask what he has behind his back, but the stony faced Richards silently glares at them through sunglasses, video shows.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to shoot you. This is not gonna end well for you if you don\u2019t put that down,\u201d Fleming sternly but calmly says before raising his voice and booming, \u201cPut that knife down. You hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n
A neighbor can then be heard off-camera repeatedly pleading with Richards to comply \u2014 imploring him to think of his family and seek help.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrop the knife, man. They don\u2019t want to hurt you,\u201d the neighbor shouts. \u201cI\u2019m begging you brother. There\u2019s someone you\u2019ve gotta love. You can get help, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the urgent appeals don\u2019t seem to faze Richards, who continues to glower at the officers from the far corner, so the neighbor places a phone call to one of Richards\u2019s friends, according to police sources.<\/p>\n
\u201cYo Peter, tell this f\u2014\u2013g guy put the knife down \u2014 there\u2019s police here right now,\u201d the neighbor can be heard begging. \u201cI got you on speaker \u2014 they\u2019re gonna take him out. Talk to him right now, let him hear your voice, \u2018cause he not listening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fleming can be seen taking the phone from the neighbor and shouting, \u201cTalk to your dude. Put your knife down,\u201d as he slides the phone on the floor toward Richards.<\/p>\n
The device is loud enough to hear someone on the other end say, \u201cRicardo, put the knife down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richards remains silent, so the neighbor tells the man on the phone to repeat himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cHit him again, man \u2014 they not f\u2013king playing,\u201d the neighbor shouts.<\/p>\n
The voice on the other line calls out, \u201cRicardo! Ricardo!\u201d as Fleming quietly radios for a Taser and moments later radios for a sergeant to \u201cfly over here. We got a guy with a knife in his hand, just want him to put it down, and we need him Tased.\u201d<\/p>\n
The officers become agitated as Richards, who was standing still, shifts his weight and moves the arm already behind his back.
\n\u201cYou understand you are seconds away from getting shot if you don\u2019t tell us what\u2019s in that other hand. Do you hear me?\u201d Fleming shouts as he and Murphy raise their weapons. \u201cDo you wanna die?\u201d<\/p>\n
The standoff continues for several minutes, until Murphy says \u201che\u2019s got a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same moment, Officer Jesus Ramos arrives with a stun gun, and the two cops tell him Richards may be packing.<\/p>\n
\u201cRicardo, is that a real gun you got there? Ricardo I don\u2019t want to shoot you if you\u2019ve got a fake gun in your hand,\u201d Fleming says with his pistol drawn. \u201cDrop the gun and drop that knife, Ricardo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ramos then steps into the room to fire his Taser.<\/p>\n
Video does not clearly show it, but NYPD officials say Richards then aimed the gun at Ramos, painting him with its laser sight.<\/p>\n
The footage does, however, show Fleming and Murphy unleash a fusillade on Richards.<\/p>\n
Fleming, an 11-year veteran, fired nine times, and 3 \u00bd-year veteran Murphy unloaded seven cartridges, according to Gomez.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet outta there! Are you okay?\u201d the officers can be heard shouting to Ramos as he scrambles out of the room and the NYPD-provided video ends.<\/p>\n
Richards was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center.<\/p>\n
The dead man\u2019s \u201cdevastated\u201d father is currently traveling to Jamaica for his funeral, according to uncle Eustace Reid, who did not watch video after it was made public.<\/p>\n
The body cameras the cops were wearing were issued two months ago as part of the NYPD\u2019s court-mandated pilot program.<\/p>\n
Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n There are currently 670 officers wearing the devices in 10 precincts, and officials expect 1,300 cops to have them by the end of the year.<\/p>\n The implementation was part of a series of reforms that stemmed from a federal judge\u2019s 2013 ruling that the controversial stop-and-frisk tactic was being used unconstitutionally.<\/p>\n Police initially refused to release the footage, arguing it could taint the investigation or unduly influence a jury should charges be brought against the cops, but officials decided to release it because it showed police acted appropriately, police sources said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was in our favor. It shows what the cops have to deal with,\u201d said a high-ranking source. \u201cPeople don\u2019t realize how quickly things change.\u201d<\/p>\n PBA president Patrick Lynch slammed the decision.<\/p>\n \u201cThe release of this footage sets a dangerous precedent that jeopardizes police officers\u2019 due process rights and confidentiality protections under state law,\u201d he said, arguing the release creates a \u201csubstantial risk of harassment, reprisals and threats to [officers\u2019] safety and the safety of their families.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n The NYPD on Thursday released its first-ever body cam footage of a police-involved shooting \u2014 and it includes a cop warning the deranged man \u201cyou are seconds away from getting shot\u201d just before killing him. A total of 48 minutes of footage from four officers\u2019 cameras show the tense standoff on Sept. 6 that ended …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[38],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\r\n \t