NYPD Officers Shoot and Kill Another Unarmed Black Man by Complex News

New York City police officers shot and killed a black man they reportedly thought was holding a gun directed at them in Crown Heights, Brooklyn on Wednesday. NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said authorities responded to three calls regarding a possibly armed man. When five officers—three of them in plain clothes—found the man in question at around 4:45 p.m., Chief Monahan claims “the suspect took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed an object at the approaching officers.” The man was later identified as 34-year-old Saheed Vassell. "This is a guy that the cops see every day," Crown Heights resident Latitia Richardson told the Guardian. "He is not a stranger to the community." Four of the officers responded to Saheed by firing a total of nine shots. The New York Times has received conflicting accounts from witnesses regarding what happened in the moments before shots were fired. While "some of the witnesses" claim they didn't hear the officers say anything beforehand, "another witness" recalls hearing the officers and Saheed exchanging words. When the officers approached Saheed, they discovered that the object being directed at them wasn't a gun, but a metal pipe with a knob at the end. Subscribe to Complex News for More: http://goo.gl/PJeLOl Watch 'Complex Live' on Go90 here: https://www.go90.com/shows/11cHKK3D2iU Check out more of Complex here: http://www.complex.com https://twitter.com/Complex https://www.facebook.com/complex https://www.instagram.com/complex/ https://plus.google.com/+complex/ COMPLEX is a community of creators and curators, armed with the Internet, committed to surfacing and sharing the voices and conversations that define our new America. Our videos exemplify convergence culture, exploring topics that include music, sneakers, style, sports and pop culture through original shows and Complex News segments. Featuring your favorite celebrities, authoritative commentary, and a unique voice, our videos make culture pop.

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