Michael Dotel seen choking mother, screaming at officers before fatal shot in the Bronx
Bodycam shows NYPD officer kill screaming suspect holding mother by throat
A New York City police officer from the 52nd Precinct fired a single fatal gunshot at a man screaming about a knife and holding his mother in a chokehold, daring officers to engage, bodycam video shows.(Credit: NYPD)
Newly released bodycam video from a December shooting in New York City shows an NYPD officer firing a single shot at a man screaming about a knife and holding his own mother by the neck while daring police to shoot him.
Police responded to an apartment near East 198th Street and Creston Avenue in the Bronx around 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 23 in response to a 911 call about a knife-wielding man "acting violently" and possibly high on drugs.
The video shows that after officers knocked on the door, a crying woman opened it and ran into the hallway.
Two NYPD officers responded to a domestic violence call about a man with a knife acting violently and found him choking his own mother in December. (NYPD)
Two officers entered and found Michael Dotel, 30, holding his mother in a chokehold in the living room.
The 52nd Precinct released the video over the weekend as part of the NYPD's internal investigation into the shooting. The state attorney general's office also reviews all police-involved shootings in New York and announced its own probe on Dec. 28.
"Police Officer Alex Morgese, assigned to Patrol in the 52nd Precinct and attired in uniform, discharged one shot from his service firearm at a subject who was choking another person," the NYPD said before sharing the footage.
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An NYPD officer fired a single gunshot at Michael Dotel, 30, fatally striking him in the head after he allegedly slashed two women, including his own mother, and tried to choke her in front of officers. (NYPD)
Dotel had his right arm around his mother's throat and locked in the chokehold with his left hand, applying "additional pressure" to the victim's neck, police said. He also told officers he had a knife and dared officers to open fire.
"I f---ing dare you," he shouted. "Do it. She's gonna get it."
Morgese only opened fire after the victim "began to lose consciousness," police said.
The video shows he asked Dotel if he had a knife.
An NYPD Crime Scene Unit van. (Peter Gerber)
"I got the knife," he replied. "I got it right here."
That was the last thing he ever said.
Paramedics took Dotel to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He had a single gunshot wound to the head.
Two other victims also required medical treatment at the hospital for injuries inflicted by the suspect, police said.
The attorney general's office said in a separate statement that Dotel appeared to have slashed both women.
Police recovered the knife at the scene.
Fox News' Bonny Chu contributed to this report.
Michael Ruiz is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to
