New York City police reportedly shot a man holding his mother in a chokehold, apparently using her as a human shield, according to a recently released bodycam video from Dec. 23, 2023.
New York City Police Department (NYPD) Officers Alex Morgese and Mohammad Hossain responded to a 911 report at about 11:22 a.m. concerning a man “who may have ingested drugs, was acting violently, and in possession of a knife” in a residence in the Bronx, according to the video released Friday by the NYPD. Screams could be heard from within the apartment as the officers knocked on the door and ordered the occupants to open the door, the video showed.
One occupant ran out of the apartment, howling; the officers continued to enter, according to the video.
The suspect, Michael Dotel, 30, reportedly screamed, “Do it right now! Do it, I fucking dare you! Do it! She’s gonna get it!” as he allegedly held the woman in a chokehold, according to the video.
“You got a knife in your hand?” asked Officer Morgese, according to the video.
“Shoot me! Shoot me! Right now!” Dotel screamed.
“You got a knife?” Officer Morgese asked again.
“Do it! Do it! Do it!” Dotel responded forcefully.
“Where’s the knife? Drop the knife!” Officer Morgese asked.
“I got the knife!” Dotel said.
“Drop the knife! Where’s it?”
“Got it!” Dotel replied.
Officer Morgese then allegedly fired his gun once, striking Dotel, who was later pronounced dead at St. Barnabas Medical Center, according to the New York Post.
The woman in Dotel’s chokehold was identified as Dotel’s 45-year-old mother, Norwood News reported. The woman who rushed out howling was identified as Dotel’s 19-year-old girlfriend, ABC7 New York reported. Dotel allegedly wielded a large carving knife; his girlfriend had allegedly been slashed in the face while his mother’s throat allegedly bled while in the front headlock, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said, Norwood News reported.
Dotel’s two alleged victims were treated for injuries, the outlet added. (RELATED: ‘Disturbed Person’: Police Shoot Man Allegedly Trying To Slit Stepmother’s Throat)
Dotel, nicknamed “The Hulk” because of his size and strength, had three pending criminal cases — including a drug case — against him as well as a history of mental illness, according to the New York Post.
The residence, Bedford Greenhouse, which offers supportive housing for people with mental and drug abuse issues, had witnessed several other disturbing incidents before, according to ABC7 New York. One resident reportedly waved a kitchen knife around on the premises while another had reportedly tried twice to set his apartment alight, neighbors told the outlet.
The NYPD saved Dotel’s mother’s life, Chell said, according to Norwood News. When asked if the NYPD handled the domestic violence incident correctly, however, Dotel’s mother reportedly said, “No.” She had reportedly sought help for Dotel two weeks before the incident as he was “so depressed” but allegedly “[t]hey didn’t help me … They didn’t do anything at St. Barnabas Hospital,” she told Norwood News.
An investigation was initiated to ascertain, among other things, “if the use of force applied in this case was justified and within the [NYPD] guidelines,” NYPD Assistant Commissioner Carlos Nieves said in the video.
The woman’s husband, who asked to remain anonymous, praised the officers who responded to the scene and said his wife would have died if officers had not shot Dotel, the New York Post (NYP) reported.
“The cops are not at fault on this one,” the victim’s husband said, according to the NYP. “It was a righteous shooting, and thank God that happened because if not, I’d be without my wife. The cops did everything they were supposed to do.”