Police in Michigan told a man to "put the knife down" before eventually shooting and killing him, a recently released video shows.
CNN obtained the footage which shows Milton Hall, 49, being shot by multiple Saginaw police officers. As many as 46 shots were fired during the altercation which took place on July 1.
The shooting happened in a parking lot on a busy commercial road. Hall is seen arguing with police officers after he "had just had a run-in with a convenience store clerk," according to CNN. A tense standoff in which Hall refused to drop the knife preceded the fatal burst of gunfire. Police were summoned to the scene by Hall, who had called 911 and said "I'm Milton Hall and I'm pissed off."
Saginaw Police Chief Gerald Cliff said Hall was "known to be an assaultive person" with "a long history" of contacts with law enforcement, "not only with police from our department but with the county," CNN reports. Michigan State Police are investigating the killing.
"It appeared to be a firing squad dressed in police uniforms," Hall's mother Jewel told CNN. "They did not have to kill him. He had not done anything."
The Saginaw News reports that Matthew Frey, the Republican candidate to become Saginaw County's next prosecutor, said he would “review the case again” if the homicide is ruled justifiable, were he to win election.
"I am extremely upset over what I saw,” Frey said.
WNEW reported today that about 100 people gathered in Saginaw to pray for Hall.
The six officers involved in the shooting were put on leave for a short time while the case was initially investigated, according to the station.
Hall's killing was Saginaw's second police shooting this year that resulted in a death.
The GRAPHIC video is below:
Related
Before You Go
