NYPD releases body cam footage in fatal police shooting inside Brooklyn Methodist Hospital
The footage, released by the NYPD, captures a tense encounter on Jan. 8 inside the hospital, where officers responded to multiple 911 calls about a suicidal patient armed with a weapon.
Newly released police body camera video shows the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of a 62-year-old man by police officers inside New York Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital earlier this month.
The footage, released by the NYPD, captures a tense encounter on Jan. 8 inside the hospital, where officers responded to multiple 911 calls about a suicidal patient armed with a weapon.
The man, identified as Michael Lynch, was a former NYPD officer and a retired FDNY lieutenant, according to his family’s attorney.
He had been admitted to the hospital’s neurology unit, for head pain and tingling in his hands, according to the family attorney.
Body camera footage shows Lynch standing in the doorway of a hospital room, covered in blood and holding what police describe as a makeshift knife made from a broken piece of a toilet seat.
For several minutes, officers repeatedly order him to drop the weapon.
Police say Lynch then stepped out of the room and lunged toward officers, prompting one officer to fire a shot. Two other officers deploy their Tasers.
Lynch retreated into the room, where a hospital security guard and another patient were still inside.
Officers continued ordering Lynch to drop the knife and used Tasers again when he did not comply.
Eventually, officers kicked the door open. Then, Lynch appeared to step towards them. Officers fired three additional rounds.
Lynch fell to the floor, still holding the weapon. Officers deployed Tasers again.
Police say Lynch was taken into custody, and treated by hospital staff, but later pronounced dead.
Lynch’s family attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, said the family has reviewed the footage and is devastated by his death. Montgomery said Lynch was not a violent man and had no history of mental health issues.
The shooting is under investigation by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division and the New York State Attorney General’s Office, which will determine whether the officers’ use of force was justified.
