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Neighbors Accuse NYPD Of Using Excessive Force In Shooting Of Knife-Wielding Man

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - His neighbors in Springfield Gardens, Queens are wondering why the police didn't use a Taser to subdue the man or call a crisis intervention team to calm him down.

His neighbor said that he always smiled and just become a father a few weeks ago.

"He didn't deserve to go like that," the neighbor told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "He was too much of a really nice man. (He was) a young man, he had a good future and he was looking forward to new beginnings."

1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reports

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But the police said that the 27-year-old man was emotionally disturbed. They had been called to his home because he had a knife to his neck. The police said that they ordered him to drop the knife several times, but he refused. The police said he then held the knife in the air and approached them.

He was then shot one time in the shoulder and later died.

Kevin, another neighbor and family friend, argued that the cops used excessive force.

"Why didn't they tase him to bring him down, calm him down and then grab hold of him to keep him under wraps?" Kevin questioned. "That man did not deserve that."

Kevin said that the deceased man worked in a hospital and was an aspiring rapper.

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