Bodycam video shows NYPD officers firing at man with knife in subway shooting that wounded 4

NEW YORK -- Footage of 2 New York City constabulary officers opening occurrence astatine a subway presumption arsenic they confronted a antheral holding a weapon shows they changeable astatine him arsenic helium was lasting still, his arms by his broadside and his backmost to a train.

In the days since Sunday's shooting, constabulary officials person repeatedly emphasized that the officers fired aft Derell Mickles "charged" astatine 1 of them, and erstwhile their attempts to deescalate the concern and usage Tasers had failed - leaving them with small prime but to edifice to deadly unit to support themselves and passengers.

The footage, uploaded to the NYPD's YouTube leafage Friday, offers a antithetic presumption of the shooting that not lone wounded Mickles but besides a bystander, who was deed successful the caput with a stray bullet. Gregory Delpeche, 49, was sent to the infirmary successful captious condition, wherever doctors had to unfastened up his skull to trim encephalon swelling, according to his family.

"The NYPD's mentation of events is simply a gross mischaracterization of what we spot connected that video," said Nick Liakas, an lawyer representing Delpeche's family. "There was nary request for immoderate bullets to alert successful the subway station, particularly successful a mounting wherever the officers enactment guiltless bystanders astatine risk. And it resulted successful Gregory getting changeable successful the backmost of the head."

Police officials defended the officers successful a news league Wednesday.

"It happened due to the fact that an idiosyncratic decided to participate our subway system. He refused to driblet that weapon, aft repeated orders by the officers. And past helium precocious towards the officers portion helium was armed," the NYPD interim commissioner, Thomas Donlon, said.

NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell described the shooting arsenic a "tragic situation" and said "we did the champion we could to support our lives and the lives of radical connected that train."

As Chell described it, Mickles jumped a turnstile astatine a subway presumption successful the Brownsville vicinity of Brooklyn a small aft 3 p.m. Sunday. The 2 officers asked the 37-year-old Brooklyn autochthonal to leave, and helium did, but Mickles was seen unfolding a weapon connected his mode out.

When Mickles returned to the presumption a fewer minutes later, the officers followed him up the steps onto the elevated platform. In the assemblage camera footage, they archer Mickles to driblet the knife. Mickles, lasting with his hands down his backmost says, "I'm not dropping it, you'll person to sprout me." The officers repeatedly implore him to amusement them his hands. He tells them to permission him alone.

When a bid pulls into the station, Mickles backs onto it. The officers travel him on. They repeatedly accidental "put it down" and past occurrence their Tasers, which person small effect, embedding successful Mickles' T-shirt earlier helium rips them retired and walks disconnected the train.

Now connected the platform, Mickles holds the weapon with the leaf open. The officers travel him retired from antithetic doors, and Mickles runs successful the absorption of 1 officer, who runs backwards.

When the officers propulsion their guns, Mickles comes to a implicit stop, his hands by his sides, successful beforehand of the train. As Mickles turns his caput somewhat to the left, they occurrence aggregate shots. Mickles falls into bid portion the passengers wrong flee.

In Chell's telling connected Wednesday, helium said: "Mr. Mickles charged 1 of the officers and past turned astir and the different serviceman was lasting determination wrong astir 5 feet. It was astatine this clip they some discharged their weapons."

In summation to Mickles and Delpeche, 1 of the officers was wounded successful the shooting. A 26-year-old pistillate suffered a graze wound.

Earlier Friday, Mickles, appearing remotely from his infirmary bed, pleaded not blameworthy to charges including attempted aggravated battle connected a constabulary officer, menacing an officer, weapons possession and evading his subway fare. The justice acceptable his bail astatine $200,000.

Mickles' lawyer, Jonathan Fink, said his lawsuit is successful "very atrocious shape" and incapable to walk.

"It seems there's a beardown statement determination was disproportionate unit utilized by the constabulary successful this case," said Fink, who had not yet seen the video.

Police betterment advocates condemned the shooting.

"This horrific lawsuit that endangered dozens of transit users didn't hap successful a vacuum," Loyda Colon, of the radical Communities United for Police Reform, said successful a connection Friday. "It happened due to the fact that the politician has invested successful flooding officers into our subway strategy and communities to criminalize intelligence unwellness and poverty, alternatively than successful making transit, housing, and services affordable and disposable to New Yorkers."

Earlier successful the week, Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and erstwhile constabulary captain, said he'd seen the videos and that the officers should beryllium commended for showing a "great level of restraint."

"I saw the steps those constabulary officers implemented," Adams told reporters Tuesday. "Over and implicit again, trying to crushed with the perpetrator. And truthful immoderate radical said, 'Well, you shouldn't beryllium enforcing fare evasion.' No. This is not a metropolis wherever immoderate and everything goes."

After the footage was released, his bureau released a connection that was little effusive, noting that the NYPD's archetypal reappraisal recovered that shooting took spot aft Mickles "brandished a unsafe limb and enactment officers' lives astatine risk."

"While the ceremonial reappraisal continues, and retired of respect for that process, I volition debar commenting immoderate further," Adams said.

Associated Press writer Karen Matthews contributed to this report.