An upstate New York mayor pleaded for peace and calm in the community after a street riot and fire broke out following a police-involved fatal shooting.
Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey spoke at a news conference called Saturday afternoon to correct misinformation circulating on social media about the Friday evening shooting of a man on a city sidewalk. The man, stopped for questioning about a shooting the previous night, was not unarmed as some posts had claimed, Harvey said.
“I’m asking for peace in the streets and calm in our community,” Harvey said. “I know there is a lot of grief and anger.”
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler released still photos and video from a police body camera. The images show three officers confronting a man who raises a silver handgun and points it at an officer’s head.
Hoovler said the man opened fire and was fatally shot by police. One officer was shot in the shoulder and is recovering, Hoovler said.
Within hours of the 5 p.m. incident, social media posts were circulating saying police had killed an unarmed man, Hoovler said. An angry crowd set several fires in an intersection around midnight. By 2 a.m. Saturday, the crowd had been dispersed and the fires extinguished.
The name of the man who was shot has not been released. Hoovler said a grand jury will review evidence and determine if the officers were justified in firing their weapons. He said his office, state police and the state attorney general’s office will also investigate.
