BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — WARNING: The video above may not be suitable for everyone. Viewer discretion is advised.
Police in West Michigan shared body camera video of officers shooting a man they say was armed with two knives and pulled a fake gun on them Christmas Day.
Two Battle Creek Police Officers are on paid leave after they shot and seriously injured him on Dec. 25. The unidentified man remains in serious condition at a local hospital, authorities said Wednesday afternoon.
Police officers were investigating a report of an assault, and law enforcement says the man pulled a weapon on responding officers, refusing to drop what appeared to be a revolver.
It all started around 2 p.m. in the 200 block of North Birdsall Drive in Bedford Township when a woman reported to police that her boyfriend assaulted her.
Police said the 22-year-old Battle Creek man left the area before officers arrived.
Officers said there was enough probable cause to arrest the man, and tried to find him.
Hours later at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, the same woman called 911 to report that her boyfriend had returned, and was making suicidal statements with a knife.
Law enforcement said three Battle Creek officers were near the area at the time on an unrelated call and heard yelling coming from the backyard of the home.
They checked it out and found the man and woman arguing, with two other people there.
Battle Creek Police shooting
As officers came closer to investigate, they say the man pulled from his waistband what appeared to be a dark-colored handgun.
Officers say they told the man to drop the gun.
At the same time, fearing for the safety of everyone present, two of the officers fired their Police Department-issued guns and struck the man twice in the torso.
The man dropped his gun and fell to the ground. Police said they took two knives from the man. The gun they recovered was actually a fake replica revolver.
Two of the three responding officers fired five shots and hit the man twice in the torso.
The two women and another man in the backyard were not injured.
The officers gave the man first aid care, and a police supervisor took the man to a local hospital for treatment.
The department placed the two officers on paid leave, pending the outcome of the investigation, which is standard protocol.
One of the officers has two years of experience, and one has 10 years of experience.
The Michigan State Police will take over the investigation of the case, which is also standard practice.
Authorities would not identify the man who officers shot, but did say he was known to police and had a "serious past conviction."
The incident remains under investigation. Police will release more information when it becomes available.
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