NEW YORK — Family members of the man accidentally shot in the head by NYPD officers at a Brooklyn subway station are calling for an investigation into the responding officers’ actions.
The suspect accused of pulling out a knife was shot, and one of the officers was also hit, along with two civilians. NYPD officials said Wednesday they plan to release the body-worn camera video in the coming days.
Gregory Delpeche, 49, was accidentally shot in the head. His family said he underwent surgery but is still fighting for his life in critical condition.
According to his family, Delpeche was on his way to work Sunday afternoon, sitting on a subway car at the Sutter Avenue subway L train station, when he was struck by a stray bullet that was fired by police.
Authorities said it all started when the two officers tried to stop Derell Mickells, 38, for jumping a subway turnstile. They said Mickells ignored their commands, and ultimately pulled out a knife and moved toward them.
Police said their Tasers were ineffective, so they pulled out their guns. Police fired nine rounds, which struck the suspect in the abdomen, one of the officers in the armpit, a 26-year-old woman in the buttocks and Delpeche in the head.
Delpeche remains in intensive care at Kings County Hospital. His family is praying for his recovery.
The 26-year-old woman and wounded police officer were both released from the hospital.
“I believe that the NYPD was reckless”
“I saw that it was him. I broke down,” Delpeche’s cousin Gregory Nougues said. “He keeps to himself. Quiet, and he was hardworking. Been with Woodhull Hospital for 20 years. So he was on his way to work. There’s no reason why he should not make it to work. I believe that the NYPD was reckless.”
“This unnecessary tragedy could’ve been avoided had they employed proper de-escalation measures,” attorney Nick Liakas said. “We are here to ask for a full investigation. We are here to ask that the NYPD and the interim commissioner release the body camera footage of those officers.”
Liakas said the police response sparked outrage, leading to demonstrations in Brownsville, including at the Sutter Avenue subway station, where 18 people were arrested Tuesday night.
A review of the most recent NYPD data from 2022 shows Tasers fail about 33% of the time.
“Let’s paint the picture of a reckless NYPD, a reckless two officers, who were callous, who were cavalier, who opened fire in a public area on the L train,” City Councilmember Chris Banks said. “It wasn’t restrained. It was careless. It was dangerous.”
“On Sunday, the NYPD shot two bystanders and their own officer in a crowded and confined area in pursuit of a $2.90 subway fare. This deeply disturbing incident shows why relying on ever more police in subways and harsh new crackdowns for minor offenses won’t bring true community safety,” New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman said. “Yesterday, the mayor praised the NYPD’s ‘restraint’ in shooting four people, including a bystander who has suffered brain damage. It seems Mayor Adams is more comfortable with New Yorkers taking a bullet than second-guessing his NYPD.”
Wednesday evening, protesters marched from Union Square to the West Fourth Street subway station. Video shows people jumping the turnstile as an NYPD officer stood by. Police later said 16 people were taken into custody, and six of them were charged.
The officers involved in Sunday’s shooting have been placed on desk duty as the NYPD investigates, as per police shooting protocol.
Meanwhile, Mickells remains hospitalized and faces several charges, including attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing and theft of service.
Narrative Mickells was shot for fare evasion “not true, irresponsible and wrong,” NYPD says
Mayor Eric Adams continues to defend the officers.
“Our hearts bleed when an innocent person is a victim of something like this, but police officers must be trained to make the right decision. When I looked at the video, I saw discipline. I saw a desire to de-escalate the situation,” Adams said Wednesday.
Interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon spoke about the shooting Wednesday.
“Let me first be clear: This is a tragedy for everyone involved, and I want to extend my sincere sympathies to those who are injured. This department understands how traumatic this situation is to all. We’re concerned about all individuals involved in this situation,” Donlon said. “But we also know this incident happened. It happened because an individual decided to enter our subway system. He refused to drop that weapon after repeated orders by the officers. And then he advanced towards the officers while he was armed.”
“Just a tragic incident for everyone involved,” said NYPD Chief of Department John Chell. “I also want to state some of the narratives that are being discussed for people who know better. A narrative that we shot somebody over a $2.90 fare, which is wrong, and quite frankly irresponsible by those people.”
Chell said the same police officers interacted with Mickells twice within 10 minutes at the same station for fare evasion. Chell said officers spotted Mickells jump the turnstile, and they approached him and asked him to leave. Mickells then did so, Chell said.
Chell said the second encounter took place over the course of two minutes and 26 seconds and was caught on body-worn camera. Mickells returned and walked through an open subway gate, at which point officers started following him. Mickells had a knife on him, Chell said.
Chell said body-worn camera shows officers commanded Mickells to drop the knife at least 30 times.
The train arrived at the station, and Mickells got on board, carrying the knife. Both officers then Tased him, but the Tasers were ineffective, Chell said. Mickells then charged an officer with the knife out, and both officers fired, Chell said.
“The situation is tragic, we mentioned earlier, and our prayers go out to the families. This is fast moving, fast paced, and a stressful situation, and we did the best we could to protect our lives and the lives of people on that train,” Chell said.
He said the body-worn camera will be released in the coming days. The NYPD also said there are 15 cameras at the Sutter Avenue station and cameras on the train that captured the incident, as well.
“We must correct the narrative that is out there that we went to that train station and shot someone because they did not pay a $2.90 fare. That is just not true, irresponsible and wrong,” Chell said.
NYPD officials said so far this year they’ve recovered 46 firearms from suspects in the subway system, up from 35 last year. Out of those 46, 24 of them came from fare evasion stops. Police say they’ve recovered nearly 1,600 knives in the subway system, and 490 of those were recovered from fare evaders.
Police later said they have found the man who was seen taking the knife from the crime scene, and the knife has since been recovered.
By NATALIE DUDDRIDGE and JESSE ZANGER/CBS News
Alecia Reid contributed to this report.
