Vilmond Jean Baptiste found in Flatbush apartment by police, wanted on 2022 warrant and connected to three summer homicides.
The police in Brooklyn fatally shot a 38-year-old man, Vilmond Jean Baptiste, on Friday evening. The incident occurred when officers were searching for him in connection with a bench warrant. They found him hiding in a bathtub in an apartment in the Flatbush neighborhood. The police stated that they had to use deadly force because Mr. Jean Baptiste attempted to stab an officer after a Taser was ineffective.
There is currently no body-camera footage or witness accounts available to corroborate the police officers’ version of events. A police spokesperson mentioned that the bench warrant was issued in Kings County in 2022, but did not provide further details. Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny stated during a news conference that Mr. Jean Baptiste was also a person of interest in three homicides earlier in the summer. It remains unclear whether the officers were aware of this information before the shooting took place.
This incident occurred on the same day that Thomas Donlon was sworn in as the new Police Department commissioner. The former commissioner, Edward Caban, resigned at the request of City Hall after his phone was seized in connection with a federal investigation. His resignation became effective at the end of the day on Friday.
Source: The NY Times
