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UPDATE: Following the shooting, the Chamberlain family filed a notice of claim announcing its intention to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the police department. Read our full coverage
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- White Plains police say an officer discharged two rounds, fatally shooting an emotionally disturbed White Plains man who attempted to bar officers from entering his apartment with a hatchet and then turned towards police with a butcher’s knife.
Public Safety Commissioner David Chong said the department received a call about a person in distress from Lifeline, an emergency medical alert system, at 5:08 a.m. Saturday. Officers heard screams and incoherent voices behind the 135 S. Lexington Ave. first floor apartment and attempted to negotiate with the occupant. The man refused to open the metal apartment door, said Chong, forcing police to work on prying it open.
“In fear of people being trapped inside the apartment or somebody inside the apartment harming themselves, the officers immediately called for backup and attempted to breach the apartment door,” said Chong.
A hatchet appeared in the crack between the door and hallway, according to Chong. An officer was able to pull the weapon out of the man’s hands. Once inside the apartment, officers say they continued to attempt to negotiate with Kenneth Chamberlain, 68, who had a butcher’s knife in his hand. He was alone in the apartment at the time of the incident.
Chong said officers then attempted to subdue Chamberlain with an electric taser and a bean bag gun, which hit him four times in the chest and legs.
As officers were backing away from Chamberlain, police said he turned towards an officer with a knife in his hand, prompting the officer to shoot two rounds from his revolver, which knocked Chamberlain to the ground.
Chamberlain collapsed on the ground and “continued to slash away at officers” who tried to give him CPR and then he attempted to cut his own throat, according to Chong.
Once the knife was taken away from Chamberlain, emergency medical responders tended to him as he was rushed to White Plains Hospital's emergency room. He died during surgery at approximately 7:09 a.m. Saturday.
The officer who shot Chamberlain, whose name was not released, is being treated at White Plains Hospital for chest pains and trauma. Chong said the officer is an eight-year veteran of the department who has never before fired his gun in the line of duty.
Four other police who were at the scene are also being treated for trauma at White Plains Hospital. Police and the Westchester County District Attorney’s office have begun an investigation about what transpired in the Winbrook Public Housing Complex apartment Saturday morning.
Chong said he believed officers followed all department rules and procedures. Chamberlain was known to the department before his fatal encounter with officers, but Chong did not describe the nature of the interactions.
Did you know Kenneth Chamberlain? Join the conversation below.
Comments (6)
Disgusted from Colorado.
Last night I listened to the audio recordings on NPR's Democracy Now. As a British-born naturalized US citizen - more to the point, as a human being - I am shocked and disturbed by what I heard. The White Plains police officers were animals, talking and behaving like a bunch of common thugs. That these so-called law enforcement officers broke into a person's home, killed them in cold blood, then walked away scott free is quite extraordinary, especially when the officers in question are apparently up for other instances of racial profiling and violence in unrelated cases.
If Chamberlain was white, he'd still be alive. No doubt about it.
America should be ashamed.
This story represents an atrocious miscarriage of justice. Please see:
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny
What happened to proper investigative journalism at The Daily White Plains?
Susan, this story was written immediately after police gave the initial press conference on this. It's based on what was known at the time. Immediately after writing this story, we did a followup based on what neighbors had to say. As time went on and more details came to light, we covered what the Chamberlain family and its lawyers said, what the notice of claim describes, neighbors' thoughts, and of course, the community gathering to send petitions for the release of audio and video.
You can read all of these followups here: http://www.thedailywhiteplains.com/tags/Kenneth-Chamberlain
It is quite sad that you think it is good journalism to uncritically repeat what the police said without any investigation of your own into the accuracy of that information. Doing that investiagtion after you have already biased the public by providing one sided information in no way makes up for your initial stenography.
It's a cover up in its beginning stages. The Commisioner has not talked to the victims family nor has he attempted to. I know this because I am a friend of a friend of the family. You cannot be afraid of the people you are suppose to serve and protect. You were responding to a possible medical emergency and murdered a 68 year old Marine Vet and retired Corrections Officers. Very Very Sad to say the least.