Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday praised the NYPD officers who shot at an alleged fare evader on a crowded subway platform in Brooklyn on Sunday, striking and injuring four people.
“I think that those officers should be commended for how they really showed a great level of restraint,” Adams said at his weekly news conference, in response to a reporter’s questions. “It’s just unfortunate that innocent people were shot because of that. But they were shot because they had a dangerous repeated offender on our subway system.”
Authorities say that when police opened fire on 37-year-old Derell Mickles, they struck four people — Mickles, a man who was hit in the head, a woman who was grazed in the buttocks, and an officer who suffered minor injuries.
Police say Mickles skipped the turnstiles without paying the fare at the Sutter Avenue L train station in Brownsville, Brooklyn, and — while holding a knife — made threatening statements to officers who pursued him. According to the NYPD, the officers first unsuccessfully tried to use their Tasers on Mickles, but then shot at him after he advanced on them.
The NYPD initially said police recovered a knife at the scene, but on Monday said it was a different knife than the one Mickles allegedly had. An unknown man walked off with Mickles’ knife in the aftermath of the shooting and is being sought for removing the weapon from the scene, according to police officials.
Adams said he watched video of the incident and noted that officers tried repeatedly to “reason” with Mickles.
“He was shot because he had a knife and he went after the police officers after [they] repeatedly ask[ed] him to put down the knife,” the mayor said. “I thought those officers responded accordingly.”
Asked if he would make the video public, Adams deflected the question, citing police guidelines.
According to a law enforcement source, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is planning to file attempted assault charges against Mickles, Gothamist reported on Tuesday. The source also said that Mickles can be seen on video lunging at officers with a knife.