The City Politic: Choire Sicha

The Other Eric Adams Scandal The NYPD shot a fare evader, a cop, and two bystanders. He defends it.

MOST PEOPLE NOW ASSUME that one of the many investigations swirling around the mayor's office will be what brings down Eric Adams. But what if the real peril to his longevity and legacy is just his everyday policies in action?

On Sunday, September 15, Derell Mickles hopped a turnstile, got asked to leave by cops, then entered the subway again ten minutes later through an emergency exit. This was at the Sutter Avenue L station, out by his mother's house, five stops from the end of the line. Police said they noticed he was holding a folded knife. They followed him up the stairs to the elevated train, asking him 38 times to drop the weapon.

The two officers pursued him at length down the station platform; they confronted him while he stood with his hands behind his back and said "Leave me alone!" repeatedly. They instructed him over and over to drop or put down the knife. A train arrived, and he backed away into it, saying, "Don't touch me.” They Tased him, and he left the train and ran. In the body-cam video, a small knife is visible in his hand against the outside of the next subway car as they shoot him many times. Four people were ultimately hit by bullets, including Mickles and one of the two cops. The officers alternate between yelling “Put it down!” and “I’m shot!” No one on the platform or in the car was stabbed.

“Earlier today, one of our officers was shot while protecting our subway system,” Adams told the public, neglecting to mention that the shooting was done by another of those officers. A bullet went through a bystander victim’s brain, his family announced, and he faced a terrible prognosis.