MARCH 12 UPDATE
Buffalo Police released body camera footage of the shooting of 58-year-old Charles Butler on March 5 on Minnesota Avenue.
The video includes a 911 call at 10:26 p.m. from the owner of the house, asking for assistance with a tenant with mental health issues. Two more calls are made within 20 minutes, followed by an escalation of priority with American Medical Response personnel — who had responded to the original call — informing dispatchers that Butler had three people at knifepoint.
Officers arrive on the scene three minutes later. After breaking open the bedroom door, officers see Butler holding two knives. After being told to drop the knives, he advances toward the officers. One officer shoots a taser while another officer fires two shots, hitting Butler in the torso.
The video may be viewed below. Viewers are warned that the footage may be disturbing to some, and that discretion is strongly advised.
ORIGINAL POST
What started as a mental health crisis turned into the shooting of a man by the Buffalo Police Department on Minnesota Avenue just before 11 p.m. Thursday night.
According to Acting Commissioner Craig Macy, Buffalo Police received a call that a 58-year-old man was threatening to kill a neighbor and personnel from American Medical Response — a private ambulance company that was on-site responding to an initial mental health emergency call.
Five BPD officers responded to the multiple-unit residence and, when two officers entered the residence, observed the individual holding two knives, according to Macy, who held a press conference Friday morning.
Following multiple deployments of a taser, which were not effective in subduing the individual, one officer fired two shots, hitting the man in the torso both times, Macy said.
The man was transported to ECMC, where he was pronounced dead.
Three officers have been placed on administrative leave and both the Buffalo Police Homicide Division and the office of the Attorney General have opened investigations into the event.
Macy said the man does not have a criminal history with the BPD and early indications are that he has been in the area for less than one year.
Macy added that there is body cam footage, and it will be released after the individual's family has the chance to watch it, estimating that the footage will be released to the public by the middle or end of next week at the earliest.
There were no other injuries reported on the scene.
Buffalo Police does have a Behavioral Health Team, which responds to incidents involving mental or behavior health concerns. However, it only operates Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Macy said AMR personnel have some of the same training, but added that any mental health incident that involves weapons is going to trigger an armed response, which includes police officers.
The man has not been publicly identified, Macy said, because next of kin has not yet been notified. According to audio archives on Broadcastify, the 911 call described the man as a "Black male wearing a blue or black sweatshirt."