NYC NOW - September 17, 2024: Midday News

Episode Date: September 17, 2024

Police are searching for a man who allegedly took a knife from the scene of a shooting Sunday at the Sutter Avenue subway station in Brooklyn. The shooting, which occurred during a pursuit of a suspected fare evader, injured four people, including an NYPD officer and two bystanders. Meanwhile, the FDNY is cooperating with federal prosecutors after a grand jury indicted two former fire chiefs for allegedly accepting bribes to expedite fire alarm system approvals. Finally, WNYC reporters Bahar Ostadan and Brittany Kriegstein provide new details on the shooting at the Sutter Avenue subway station.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WMYC. It's Tuesday, September 17. Here's the midday news from Michael Hill. Police say they're looking for a man who allegedly removed a knife from the scene of a police shooting at a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday. Officers shot and wounded four people, including an NYPD officer and two bystanders. while pursuing an alleged fair evader.

David LaFauchy says he was on the train when the suspect Daryl Michaels entered it during the confrontation. He says he heard officers order Mickles at least once to drop a knife. They tased him. He didn't go down. He just kind of shrugged it off, I guess. He then left the train, like walked right out the door he came in, and a little while later I heard the shots. The development of the stolen knife contradicted an earlier claim from the department that officers had recovered the weapon from the scene. The FDNY says it's cooperating with federal prosecutors after a grand jury indicted two former fire prevention chiefs. Prosecutors alleged the ex-chiefs Anthony Sakavino and Brian Cordasco took bribes to fast-track approvals of fire alarm systems. The feds say the duo pocketed up to $190,000 in bribes.

U.S. Attorney Damien Williams says the Justice Department will not tolerate pay-to-play corruption. If you are aware of and participated in corrupt activity in our government, now is the time to come forward and to get on the right side of the law. And the attorney for Sackavino asked the public not to jump to any conclusions. Kordasco's attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. 73 and cloudy now mostly cloudy in 78 today with a 50-50 chance of showers. tomorrow cloudy and mid-70s. Stay close. There's more after the break.

One person is still in critical condition after a chaotic police shooting inside a Brooklyn subway station on Sunday. It began after officers pursued an alleged fair evader. The shooting has raised a number of questions. WNYC's NYPD reporter, Bahar Ostadon, joins us now. Bahar, I have to ask you this. Remind us what happened here? Well, it was a really chaotic and honestly confusing scene that's left us with, frankly, more questions than answers. What we know for the most part is what police have told us, which is that police officers followed a man named Dorel Mickles.

They said they saw him walk through an emergency exit gate instead of paying his fare at a Brownsville subway station. They followed him up three flights of stairs through the station, up to the subway plight. form. They say he threatened to kill them if they didn't stop following him. And they continue to ask him to take his hands out of his pockets, they say, which they say he didn't. At that point, officers tried to tase him. It didn't work. He pulled out a knife, they say. Officers shot him directly after that. And in the process, shot two other bystanders, including one fellow police officer. I know you're waiting on police body camera footage that could tell us so much more,

but it seems risky for police to shoot inside a subway station in the middle of the day, as we said, about 3 o'clock or so. What is NYPD protocol on when to pursue a suspect and when to say, okay, let him go? It's a great question. Our reporter Charles Lane spoke to a witness yesterday who said he heard a spray of bullets. Here's David LaFouchy. they tased him. He didn't go down. He just kind of shrugged it off, I guess. He then left the train, like walked right out the door he came in, and a little while later I heard the shots.

You know, Michael, I was reminded of the Jouvet shooting in Crown Heights, where a man shot five people. In that instance, the NYPD in a news conference said officers actually pulled out their guns in that moment to shoot the shooter, but didn't because it was too crowded at the scene and would have been dangerous. So yesterday I asked the NYPD, why not open fire in the parade, but do so in a crowded train station in the middle of the day. They said first that the train platform was less crowded and actually that there's no standard protocol about when officers should decide to pursue a suspect versus let them go. One official told me yesterday that individual officers get their own discretion over how they respond to what they perceive as a threat of force.

One official told me officers have to make quick decisions and analyze 100 things going through their mind and really that it's up to them. But from what we know, the officer tried to use a taser on this man, Mickels, before they opened fire. You looked into how effective tasers are. What did you find? So first of all, this was the second NYPD shooting within 48 hours. where officers first tried to tase someone, it didn't work, and then they shot the person. It's a problem that the NYPD and police departments across the country have faced for years. Since the NYPD really started rolling these tasers out about a decade ago,

tasers have failed about 40% of the time. So they're finicky, right? A taser relies on two prongs that shoot out from a yellow device that's shaped like a gun. And those prongs are attached to wires that deliver an electric shock. to incapacitate someone. You have to be as close as 15 feet to someone for it to work. I asked a few police experts about Sunday subway shooting. One said using a taser can sort of inadvertently escalate a situation

because you have to get close to someone to use the taser, but then when it doesn't work, suddenly the officer is close to someone perhaps holding a knife and they feel like they have no choice but to use deadly force. Another piece of the puzzle. Tell us about this knife that the police said the suspect had. They posted a photo of it Sunday night, but now they say the knife is missing? That's right.

We're not totally sure what happened there. But here's what we do know from police. Last night, the NYPD told me they actually recovered a different knife from the scene, sort of a random knife that someone else dropped in the subway car amid all the chaos. They say someone took the knife that Mickles allegedly had. from the scene. They posted a picture of Mickles holding that knife from one of the officers' bodyworn cameras, and they're looking for this other man who they say took that knife and in their words tampered with a crime scene. WNIC reporter Bahar Oostodon, Bahar. Thank you.

Joining us now, WNIC reporter, Brittany Craigstime. Brittany, you spoke with the mother of the alleged fair evader Daryl Nichols. What does she say? Yes, Gloria Holloway is Michael's mother. She says when she arrived home from her night shift as a security guard, she found an NYPD business card at her door. She was completely shocked to hear the news that he'd been shot. They shot him at the train station? So they just shot him and didn't bother to get in touch with nobody who's related to him and leave a card here at the damn door? What does she tell you about Mickels? The man police were shooting her.

Well, of course, I had so many questions. She told me that her son had no history of mental health issues and that he works as a chef at different restaurants throughout the city so possibly could have been carrying a knife. She said that he lives at an apartment in Harlem. He has no kids. He's close with his mom. Doubling in my series, Brittany, Craigstein.

We have so much more to learn about this. Brittany, thank you. Thank you, Michael. Thanks for listening. This is NYC Now from WNYC. Be sure to catch us every weekday, three times a day, for your top news headlines and occasional deep vibes. Also subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.