Crown Heights Residents Voice Frustration, Fear After Police Shooting

The police shooting of 34-year-old Saheed Vassell Wednesday afternoon has left community members in Crown Heights, Brooklyn shaken and angry.

"The people is scared right now," said a man named Chris, who declined to give his last name. "When cops do stuff like this, it [has to] come to justice."

Vassell was a mentally ill man who many residents described as friendly. On Wednesday shortly before 5 p.m., police received 911 calls about a man who appeared to be pointing a gun at people on the street. Responding officers shot Vassell several times after they said he pointed a metal object at them. The item was later identified as a metal tool, not a gun.

Three of the officers who responded to the 911 calls were a part of the Anti-Crime Unit. Two were part of a Strategic Response Group who respond to potential terrorist threats. None of them were part of the neighborhood policing units for Crown Heights.

WNYC reporter Jared Marcelle spoke with residents about how they want community policing to change. 

"They understand the importance of cops, and the role that cops play in society," Marcelle told Jami Floyd. "But ultimately they want, you know, when someone does something wrong, they will be dealt with accordingly. Until that happens, the sense of helplessness will continue."

The police need to do a better job of engaging with people as individuals, said Crown Heights resident Jay Smith. 

"These officers know nothing about us, they know nothing about the individuals," said Smith. "As far as they're concerned, everyone's a bad person, so we're all labeled as that."

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office is investigating Vassell's death. Under a state executive order from 2015, his office has jurisdiction to investigate police killings of unarmed civilians. 

The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.