A man was fatally shot by NYPD officers following a foot chase in Brooklyn, after police responded to a 911 call regarding an individual allegedly violating a restraining order. The incident took place last Sunday morning on East 86th Street, with six officers arriving on scene to confront a man matching the description given by the 911 caller who then fled the scene when officers approached.
The officers reportedly gave numerous warnings before one shot hit the suspect in the chest, the man was later handcuffed, transported by squad car to NYC Health + Hospitals / Kings County, and pronounced dead there, according to a New York Post article.
The deceased was identified as Royston Bacchus by family members who have since demanded the release of body-camera footage from the NYPD and have held a vigil calling for more information about the circumstances that led to Bacchus's death. Family and community members, along with Council Member Chris Banks and other local leaders, gathered to remember Bacchus, who was known personally to many in the community from his high school football days. "This is not about demonizing this is about accountability, and so every action, every effort, every movement must bring clarity to what took place," Banks stated in a vigil covered by News 12 Brooklyn.
Questions have also been raised by the family and Council Member Banks regarding why Bacchus was taken to a different hospital instead of the nearby Brookdale and what caused the delay in EMS response—Bacchus's aunt, Afiah Caesar-Cornwall, shared in a statement obtained by News 12 Brooklyn, saying, "I won't get the hugs I have from [him] all the time, and he is not here anymore, he was not a violent man, he was father." NYPD has not provided new comments but referred back to their initial release following the shooting, while they and an internal investigations team review the body cam footage of the incident.
