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NYPD Taser Emotionally Disturbed Man In Flatbush
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 10, 2014
Modified Sep 10, 2014
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 10, 2014
Modified Sep 10, 2014
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A man was shot with a Taser by police in Flatbush yesterday after he threatened a shopkeeper and responding officers with a shard of glass.
The Daily News obtained video of the incident, in which the 19-year-old is surrounded by police on Flatbush Avenue and subdued with a Taser shot.
Police told the paper that the man was classified as an "Emotionally Disturbed Person" (EDP) and taken to Kings County Hospital, though he was not arrested.
The NYPD respond to roughly 100,000 EDP calls every year, and they routinely result in injuries or death. A bipolar man took a fatal plunge after being shot with a Taser in 2008.
In 2012, police shot and killed an emotionally disturbed man who was brandishing a knife in Times Square. That same year Mohamed Bah was fatally shot with a Taser, rubber bullets, and live ammunition after he barricaded himself in his Harlem apartment. Police initially said Bah had stabbed one of the responding officers with a knife, but in fact that officer had been hit with a colleague's Taser shot.
Bah's family is currently suing the city for $70 million and to force the NYPD to change its procedures when responding to EDP calls.
Earlier this summer, Mayor de Blasio convened a Task Force on Behavioral Health to examine the NYPD's policies, and determine how to better serve the 40% of inmates at Rikers who suffer from mental illness. The task force is expected to release its findings and recommendations later this month.
Tagged
EDPs
Emotionally Disturbed Persons
flatbush
mental health
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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