Suspect in Brooklyn subway station shooting indicted; NYPD plans to release bodycam
Mickles' charges include attempted aggravated assault on a police officer, attempted assault and assault
BROOKLYN, New York (WABC) -- The suspect involved in a police shooting at a subway station in Brooklyn on Sunday was indicted on several charges on Friday.
Derell Mickles, 37, was arraigned from his bed at Kings County Hospital, where he is recovering after being shot by police.
He's accused of charging at two police officers with a knife at the Sutter Avenue train station in Brownsville.
Video in the media player above is from a previous report.
He was indicted on eight counts, including attempted aggravated assault on a police officer, attempted assault and assault, menacing a police officer, criminal possession of a weapon and theft of services, to which he pleaded not guilty.
The judge set bail at $250,000 thousand, less than the state's request of $750,000.
"Obviously he's in very serious condition as far as his physical wellbeing," said Mickles' attorney Jonathan Fink. "I'm sure he would come back to court if he was released without any bail or if there was some kind of supervision."
His next court appearance is set for November 20.
Despite the indictment against Mickles on Friday, there has been an outcry and growing criticism of the NYPD's handling of the shooting, which left both Mickles and a bystander in critical condition, and injured an officer and one other bystander.
The family of the bystander, 49-year-old Gregory Delpeche, who was shot in the head by police gunfire calls the action of cops reckless and they're demanding to see the bodycam video.
The NYPD has not yet released the body-worn camera, but said during a press conference on Wednesday that they plan to release it by the end of the week, once it's seen by a Brooklyn grand jury first.
Top NYPD brass have fended off criticism of the officers' actions, calling it a "fast-moving, fast-paced, and a stressful situation."
"We did the best, we did the best we could to protect our lives and the lives of the people on that train," said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.
Chell said the incident "was not about fare evasion," but rather an incident about "a person in mental stress armed with a deadly weapon."
Officials laid out a detailed timeline, explaining that NYPD officers had not one, but two interactions with Mickles, that led to the shooting.
Police say after catching Mickles jumping the turnstile, they asked him to leave and he did.
However, 10 minutes later, Mickles came back holding a knife. This time he was not willing to leave or drop his weapon, police said.
Officers say they asked him 38 times to drop the knife. They followed Mickles back into the station, and that's when the suspect allegedly approached the officers.
The officers first fired their Tasers, which were ineffective. Then, they fired their guns.
"As depicted on body-worn camera. Mr. Mickles charged one of the officers and then turned around. The other officer was standing there within approximately five feet. At this time, they both discharged their weapons," Chell said.
Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly defended the officers' actions.
"Idealism is not realism. Policing is a very complicated series of events that unfold at a pace that is unimaginable," he said.
The shooting has sparked both outrage and several protests this week, leading to dozens of arrests.
Eyewitness News spoke to Delpeche's attorney Nick Liakas on Thursday. He said the NYPD failed to talk about what their responsibility is when they fire their guns in a public space and harm innocent bystanders.
"This unnecessary tragedy could have been avoided had they employed proper de-escalation measures," Liakas said. "We are here today because the city of New York has failed to take responsibility for the actions of its officers. We are here to ask for a full investigation."
In the meantime, NYPD officials are calling what happened to Delpeche a tragedy.
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