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Terrifying new footage shows the moment a New York police officer shot and killed a man who was holding his mother by strangulation while claiming to be armed with a knife.
The terror unfolded in an apartment in the Bronx on December 23. New body camera video shows officers Alex Morgese and Mohammad Hossain rushing into the home after a 911 call was made about a man acting violently.
The caller stated that the suspect, Michael Dotel, had “ingested drugs, was acting violently and was in possession of a knife.” The video begins with police in the hallway of the building in the Bedford section of a district plagued by violence.
Screams can be heard as one of the officers demands Dotel let them in. As soon as the door opens, an unidentified person runs out the front door.
The police enter and are greeted by Dotel, 30, shouting: ‘Do it right now! Do it, I dare you! Do it! She’ll get it!’
“Do you have a knife in your hand?” Morgese shouts. ‘Shoot me! Shoot me! Right now!’ Dotel shouts. “Do you have a knife?” Morgese responds. ‘Do it! Do it! ‘Do it!’ is the answer.
Officer Alex Morgese can be seen on his partner’s body camera pointing a gun at Michael Dotel, 30, while he holds his mother in a chokehold.
Officer Mohammad Hossain can be seen with a Taser in his hand as gunfire erupts.
‘Where is the knife? “Drop the knife?” insists Morgese. ‘I have the knife!’ —the aggressor shouts. Drop the knife! Where is?’ the officer asks once again. ‘I understand!’ Dotel says.
At that moment, Morgese shoots Dotel once, killing him. The two victims who were at the home, his mother, Clary, 45, and his girlfriend, 19.
Clary told local media The Norwood News that he did not believe the police had handled the incident well, adding that he had sought help for his son for weeks before the shooting.
He even went to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment for depression, but said, “They didn’t help me… They didn’t do anything.”
The outlet also published a photo of a small shrine erected in Dotel’s memory outside her home.
‘To the first love of my life, I can’t believe I’m sitting here writing this. It hurts me that you are no longer with us. He was depressed and had a lot of problems. It’s very sad,’ said the message, written by Dotel’s sister.
‘My son went crazy and tried to kill me. I felt like he was having a heart attack,” Clary said. ABC New York in an interview at the time of the original incident.
During the altercation, he was armed with a carving knife with which he slashed his girlfriend in the face. His mother was also bleeding from her neck, officers said.
The suspect received the nickname ‘Hulk’ in his community due to his strength and size.
At the time of his death, Dotel was facing three criminal charges, reports The New York Post. The outlet adds that Dotel had a history of drug use and mental illness.
The building where the shooting took place, Bedford Greenhouses, is a housing center for those struggling with drugs and other problems. NYPD officers have been called to the building on several occasions.
According to a crowdfunding page set up to help pay for Dotel’s funeral, his mother said her son is survived by two daughters, ages six months and three years.