Man armed with knife, claiming bomb, killed on Brooklyn Bridge after advancing on officer
NYPD officers spent nearly an hour attempting to de-escalate the situation before a fatal encounter.
A man armed with a knife and claiming to have a bomb was killed on the Brooklyn Bridge after advancing on an NYPD officer, according to an analysis of bodycam and drone footage. The incident occurred when police encountered 41-year-old Chaun Bottom walking along the bridge's cables.
Members of the NYPD Emergency Service Unit spent approximately an hour attempting to negotiate with Bottom and persuade him to come down from the cables. During the de-escalation efforts, officers worked to build rapport while maintaining a safe distance, a process complicated by the elevated and precarious position hundreds of feet above the East River.
The standoff concluded when Bottom raised his knife and moved toward an officer. The footage shows a single shot was fired by Sgt. Dennis Dooley from the roadway below, resulting in a split-second use-of-force decision after nearly an hour of attempted peaceful resolution.