Officer fatally shoots man threatening to kill police outside Open Door Mission
Rochester, N.Y. March 11 2021 Police say an officer shot and killed a man who threatened to harm himself and police outside the Open Door Mission early Monday.
Officers were called to the scene on West Main Street just before 3 a.m. for a report of a man with a knife.
Police say the man had taken the knife from the Samaritan House and left on foot.
Officers confronted him outside. They say the man was cutting himself with a knife and refused to drop it.
They say the man also threatened to kill officers, who had reached out for an officer with a Taser. As the man got closer, one officer fired at least one round.
The man was taken to Strong Hospital and pronounced dead at 3:55 a.m.
Police say the Family & Crisis Intervention Team was not called.
The man has not been identified, but Anna Valeria-Iseman, who serves as executive director of The Open Door Mission, said the man was a guest at the Samaritan House.
“Our hearts are heavy at the Open Door Mission regarding the incident that occurred early this morning involving the death of one of our guests,” Valeria-Iseman said. “We are praying for our guest, their loved ones, and the Rochester Police Department officers involved in this incident. As this is an ongoing police investigation, we can have no further comment at this time.”
Main Street was closed from Washington Street to Cascade Drive for several hours before being reopened around 9:15 a.m.
Police accountability advocates and other community leaders are encouraging the Rochester Police Department to release all body-worn camera and surveillance footage pertaining to the shooting.
