Milton Hall Shooting: Footage Released Of Police Killing Man (VIDEO)

Milton Hall was shot and killed by police in July

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:

Loading Slideshow

• Chancier McFarland

  This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 shows Chancier McFarland. Police identified the 19-year-old McFarland as an accomplice in the murder and robbery of Officer Moses Walker Jr. McFarland is still at large, and police are urging the alleged teen accomplice to turn himself in. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Police Department) (AP Photo/Philadelphia Police Department)

• Rafael Jones

  This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department on Friday, Aug. 24, 2012 shows Rafael Jones. Police say they've charged the 23-year-old Jones with murder and robbery in the death of Officer Moses Walker Jr. (AP Photo/Philadelphia Police Department)

• Jerry Lard

  FILE - In this April 19, 2012, file photo, Jerry D. Lard, center, is escorted from the Craighead County Courthouse in Jonesboro, Ark. Lard is charged with capital murder and attempted capital murder for killing Trumann, Ark., police officer Jonathan Schmidt and shooting at another officer in 2011 after Schmidt pulled over a car in which Lard was a passenger. (AP Photo/The Jonesboro Sun, Saundra Sovick, File)

• Earl Ellis Green

  FILE - This undated file photo provided Nov. 10, 2010, by the Riverside Police Department shows Earl Ellis Green. Green, was sentenced to death for the shooting death of Ryan Bonaminio, a Riverside, California police officer. (AP Photo/Riverside Police Department, File)

• Troy Anthony Davis

  FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Georgia Department of Corrections shows Troy Davis, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Documents obtained by The Associated Press provide a glimpse into the last moments of Davis' life before he was executed on Sept. 21, 2011 for the 1989 murder of an off-duty Savannah officer. Davis maintained his innocence even while strapped to a gurney minutes before his execution by lethal injection. (AP Photo/Georgia Department of Corrections, File)

• Mumia Abu-Jamal

  FILE - In this July 12, 1995 file photo, Mumia Abu-Jamal leaves Philadelphia's City Hall after a hearing. District Attorney Seth Williams announced Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2011 that prosecutors will no longer pursue the death penalty against the former Black Panther, meaning he will spend the rest of his life in prison for gunning down a white police officer nearly 30 years ago. Abu-Jamal, who has been incarcerated in a western Pennsylvania prison, has garnered worldwide support from those who believe he was the victim of a biased justice system. (AP Photo/Chris Gardner, File)

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Comments

[proudsisterofPO]

06:33 PM on 09/13/2012

He said repeatedly that someone was going to die and he wasn't going to drop the knife. He threatened a clerk at the gas station (the reason they were there in the first place) as well as the officers there several times. They will say in school they were trained that if a guy has a knife like that to unload the clip don't wast time counting how many times you shoot a guy this is not tv when we shoot once in the shoulder and call it good saginaw is not safe and cops are told to unload they did nothing wrong they did what they were trained and able to do. Milton Hall has caused many problems in Saginaw City in the past, many of which it took multiple cops and force to contain him...and that is without him having a knife in his hand. These Police Officers put their lives on the line everyday for you people to feel safe in your homes. They see things and are put in situations on a daily basis that none of you would ever understand or put yourselves in. Although such situations can be hard to understand, instead of scolding our Police Officers for the tough decision that was made that one day, lets take time to thank them for the decision they make to look out of you day after day.

[jeighjoans]

07:21 PM on 09/06/2012

juxtapose all those idealistic political speeches with this reality.

[simsum]

08:50 PM on 08/26/2012

If communities no longer have control over their own local police forces, who is controlling them?

[nicolec]

09:31 PM on 08/22/2012

Oh My God. His Mom got it right: "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 cops should go to jail and the chief should lose his job.

[NunyaBeezwax]

09:05 AM on 08/21/2012

Pepper spray, tazer..hello? Rush the guy? Dog could have brought him down.

[Demeralda]

08:40 PM on 08/31/2012

This is the same PD that tasered a 13 year old multiple times. He died.

[Rich Turner]

04:41 PM on 08/20/2012

Couldnt it just have been one officers job to shoot the guy. And perhaps only if he actually was going to hurt someone. If these cops are so scared and jumpy, they shouldnt be cops. Absolfrigginridiculous.

[Reasonable2012]

02:25 PM on 08/20/2012

(Continued)

You would guess they would escalate it to the negotiation phase, and try to talk him down. Then maybe start talking mace and tasing. Maybe throw him in jail? Let him at least vent and tell everyone how unhappy he was about whatever it was that had pissed him off. He wanted to be HEARD.

No, everyone of those six officers seemingly wanted a piece of that action and were getting off on it. I'm guessing that after the first shot he dropped the damn knife. Now, they can all say they killed someone. Good for them. Got that badge of honor. Milton, brother, sorry you had to go through that. Sorry your family has to go through this too.

This is not a matter of police needing retraining. Jesus, if they unload their gun at every disabled middle-aged man who is angry, then they need to be in prison. Milton called the cops because he was angry and evidently wanted them to sort something out. My God.

[Reasonable2012]

02:25 PM on 08/20/2012

(Continued)

They came close to killing me dead, and heated words were said by me more than once. Every day I wondered if that was going to be the day they would come and try to force me off my land. I would have been belligerent too because lives were at stake! (And the bureaucrat's story would have been the one you read in the newspaper.)

What is the background story here? I can only imagine how harsh these desk murderers can be to someone with a disability! All nice and legal and Christian. Am sure most of the bureaucrats go to church every Sunday.

So, 10.5 years later in my case, and tens of thousands of dollars later...the loss of our ability to have a family, lost income, exacerbated medical conditions...what was accomplished? A few pieces of paper were printed. Some bureaucrats were made to feel self-important and powerful by their ability to block and damage someone's life. Definitely the County did not save itself any work! It created 10x work in lawsuits, variances, Minor Land Divisions, etc.

So what about Milton? I betcha there is a story alright about the bullshit they put him through. I betcha he was tired of them ordering him around. Would not be surprised if he was only holding onto the knife because they ordered him to put it down. Who would have thought they would have immediately gone to, "SHOOT HIM 46 TIMES!!!" Right?

[Reasonable2012]

02:24 PM on 08/20/2012

This shooting stinks. I support George Zimmerman's claim of self defense (based on facts presented to date) but not these cops. George shot the guy once, and had a broken nose and other supporting evidence. These cops unloaded on Milton from a distance, and without an actual attack or even an attempted attack occurring!

No, a 49-year-old cannot leap 20 feet in a split second. Why not retreat to a distance and ask him a few more times to put it down? Why not mace him? Why not tase him? Tactical baton? Shoot him once in the leg or arm? Have seen cops go to heroic efforts to keep from shooting someone who earned a double tap. Milton was no where near that point.

No, this was something different.

Am left wondering about these previous encounters with police and especially the COUNTY. Here is my experience with county Eichmann-esque bureaucrats. Will be brief.

They forced us to be homeless for 18 months and to illegally squat on my own land for 10.5 years...because they did not like mobile homes and because (the County Attorney said 2x) their decision was made "to save the County work." They unjustly and unconstitutionally did profound damage (much of it permanent) to our lives. It was unconstitutional because they de facto seized my property (by not allowing me to use it) without due process.

[Cornelius G]

01:55 PM on 08/20/2012

It appears that there was a better way to resolve this situation. The man was in need of psychiatric intervention. Why not use a taser? Also, how many times do you need to shoot a person to eliminate a threat?

[slinkybro]

01:20 PM on 08/20/2012

Milton Hall was an idiot. If only he had put the knife down.

[Roelvdwegen]

09:54 AM on 08/21/2012

If only the cops had used tasers like they do on little girls.

[slinkybro]

12:58 PM on 08/21/2012

Wouldn't have needed the taser, if he had put the knife down.

[Depleroma]

12:38 PM on 08/20/2012

A knife's danger is limited to arm's length. One shot to the leg (or a taser) to bring him to the ground removes the risk.
I wish police would leave death sentences to judges and juries, rather than deciding on their own who has the right to live. I can't believe that six officers with guns were in actual fear for their lives from one man with a knife.

[Patricia Hollister]

09:46 PM on 09/12/2012

Well said, Depleroma. You might see my very angry comment earlier. I posted comments always measuring my words and tone on a previous issue a while back. Now , this killing -I just want to let the anger fly! I've got good reason to yell, scream and cry. I really like your comment though and sounds more like the old me. I'm so tired so sick and still grieving injustice.

[Depleroma]

07:09 PM on 09/13/2012

I sympathize.  There are stories that make my blood boil too.  I've learned the hard way that they're the ones to step away from for a while.  They always get me into trouble. :-)
Best wishes.

[sasweeney1]

12:02 PM on 08/20/2012

There is blame on both sides here. You don't waive a knife at police and expect a happy outcome. There are also plenty of other options the police could have taken in a 6-1 match-up. (Tazer, K-9, rubber bullets,etc). Shoot him in the shoulder and I guarantee he drops the knife.

[the game is rigged]

12:02 PM on 08/20/2012

brainwashed tool: “the article said he was dangerous.”

(conspiracy theorist): “yeah but they shot a homeless guy.”

brainwashed tool: “the article said he had a knife.”

(conspiracy theorist): “they shot him 46 times!”

brainwashed tool: *at a loss for words unable to comprehend police state being implemented* “you’re a terrorist!”

and thus the story continues.

[kushman513]

11:53 AM on 08/20/2012

wow