A 24-year-old New Jersey man on probation who threatened police officers with a meat cleaver when they came to check on him after missing an appointment was shot and killed Thursday, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation tells NBC 4 New York.
Elvin Diaz pulled the large knife on the three officers who were sent to his Hackensack home for a probation welfare check around 2 p.m., and the officers opened fire, authorities said.
Hackensack police Director Michael Mordaga told The Record. Diaz put the officers in a situation where they had no choice.
Mordaga says the three officers were taken to the hospital to be treated for shock and that they were distraught and upset.
Diaz was previously charged with arson, narcotics, aggravated assault on a police officer and resisting arrest.
It wasn't clear how many shots were fired, nor was it known how many of the three officers fired their weapons.
