New York Police Department released surveillance video on Thursday of a man, later fatally shot by police, pointing a silver object at several residents, as if brandishing a gun.
The video also shows 911 call trnscripts of neighborhood residents who reported the man to police. After fatally shooting Saheed Vassell, officers discovered that the object was “a pipe with some sort of knob on it,” officials said.
New York City police officers shot and killed a black man Wednesday after he pointed what they believed was a gun at them, authorities said.
The incident comes amid a resurgence of questions about unequal treatment of people of color by police following the police shooting in Sacramento, California, of a man who police said had a gun. Only a cell phone was found near his body.
