NYPD Bodycam Shows Cleaver Attack Shooting on NYC's Lower East Side
NY AG released footage of cops fatally shooting Wei Chan, 54, who slashed his elderly father before advancing on officers with a cleaver. Father survived.
Bodycam Footage Shows Fatal NYPD Shooting in Lower East Side Apartment
New York Attorney General Letitia James released bodycam footage Friday showing the moment officers fatally shot a cleaver-wielding man inside his Manhattan apartment building after he attacked his elderly father, NY Post Metro reports.
The footage, recorded on Aug. 16, shows officers forcing entry into Wei Chan's Ludlow Street home on the Lower East Side. Seconds after entering, they discover a trail of blood running up the staircase.
"Hey, what's going on? Show me your hands. Show me your hands," one officer is heard demanding as three colleagues follow him up the stairs.
Chan, 54, responded with incoherent shouting and repeatedly ignored commands to drop the blade. "He's got a knife, he's got a knife," a second officer warned, at which point at least two cops drew their weapons.
Chan then advanced down the stairs toward the officers with the large cleaver. Officers opened fire — audible in the footage as a rapid series of shots — and Chan tumbled down the staircase, collapsing onto the landing below.
EMS personnel performed CPR at the scene before Chan was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
His father, Chung Chan, 75, was found on the second floor with a laceration to his head. Investigators determined the wound was inflicted by his son. The elder Chan was also taken to Bellevue Hospital and listed in stable condition.
Wei Chan had no prior criminal history with the NYPD, but police said at the time he had a documented history of mental health issues.
Source: NY Post Metro