A Brooklyn man who slashed a police officer in the face with a butcher knife was fatally shot by police on Sunday in Brownsville.
At about 5:24am, Justin Coleman, 35, walked into the 73rd police precinct on E. New York Avenue, according to Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera, who held a Sunday morning press conference about the matter.
Coleman entered the front vestibule and tried to open a locked door, according to Rivera. He did not speak to anyone before leaving a few seconds later. Coleman then walked around the block to the back of the precinct that is only for authorized NYPD personnel.
At about 5:28am, he entered the rear of the precinct and was immediately confronted in a vestibule by a female police officer that was assigned to station house security. The officer told Coleman that if he needed assistance, he needed to go to the front of the building, Rivera said.
Coleman then took out a large butcher knife and began attacking the officer. He slashed her in the forehead, but she was able to fight him off, according to Rivera.
He then ran out of the back of the precinct and an officer deployed a Taser to try to subdue him, which was not successful.
Several officers pursued Coleman on foot for several blocks. He was repeatedly told to drop the butcher knife but he did not comply, Rivera said.
Once they reached Saratoga Avenue, between Eastern Parkway and Park Place, Coleman lunged at an officer with the knife.
Two officers discharged their firearms and Coleman was struck several times. A butcher knife approximately 14 inches long was recovered at the scene, said Rivera, who did not disclose how many shots were fired.
Rivera said the female officer, who suffered superficial wounds, was taken to a local hospital and is recovering “in good spirits.”
Coleman, who lived several minutes away from the precinct, according to a NYPD spokesperson, was taken to Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
"This situation demonstrates the dangerous situations our officers confront every day,” Rivera said. “It’s another kind of danger when someone walks into a precinct armed with a knife and attacks our officers.”
