Chief Of Department on the Police-involved Shooting in the 46 Precinct, Bronx.

April 15, 2019

Remarks as prepared for Chief of Department Terence Monahan

Good afternoon, I'm Chief Terry Monahan, Chief of Department and I am joined by Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney, Commanding Officer of the Force Investigation Division.
 
The information I'm about provide regarding last night's officer-involved firearm discharge is preliminary, as the investigation is still ongoing.
 
I want to begin with a little context.
 
Prior to our firearm discharge incident, The Fire Department responded to the same location -- 1616 Grand Avenue, 4th floor, in the Bronx -- at about 10:50 PM -- to assist a tenant who called, claiming his front door was locked and his apartment was on fire. FDNY forced the door open and determined the apartment was not on fire. They then left the location.
 
At about the same time, the NYPD received (2) 911 calls regarding the same tenant - who was reportedly threatening neighbors, and banging on doors with a large stick. At about 11 PM, (2) uniformed police officers from the 46 Precinct arrived at the 6-story residential building, and were escorted by the super to that same suspect's apartment on the 4th floor. The officer was wearing a body-worn camera, and it was activated for this incident. I viewed this footage last night at the scene and can tell you that upon knocking on the now-unsecured door, it opened allowing the officers to observe the suspect standing a few feet away. The suspect was holding a large kitchen knife in one hand, and what appeared to be a full-size, broom handle wrapped in black tape in the other hand. The uniformed officers gave numerous commands to drop the weapons. When the suspect did not comply, one officer deployed his Taser striking the suspect and causing him to fall to the ground inside the apartment. As the officers moved inside the apartment to disarm suspect and take him into custody he suddenly jumped to his feet and charged at the officers from a short distance - still with the knife and broom handle in his hands. The officers exited the apartment, but the suspect was still advancing quickly toward them. At that point, one of the officers discharged his service weapon 4X at the direction of the suspect, striking him in the chest. The officers immediately requested an ambulance to respond to the location. The suspect was transported to Bronx Lebanon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:46 P.M. The officers were not injured during the incident and were taken to an area hospital for observation, where they were later released. We will continue to share new information from this ongoing investigation as it becomes available.
 
Trawick, Kawaski
32-year-old male
1616 Grand Avenue, Apt#409
Bronx, NY
 
Family has been notified.