The New York City Police Department released body-worn camera and drone footage on Friday, October 2, 2026, of an officer-involved shooting on the Brooklyn-bound side of the Brooklyn Bridge on Friday, September 4, 2026.
The video above is the department’s release exactly as published. What follows is the department’s own account from its video, with the New York Attorney General’s published account.
At approximately 3:28 a.m., a civilian witness called 911 and reported a person walking on a suspension cable of the Brooklyn Bridge. According to the Attorney General, NYPD Emergency Service Unit officers climbed onto the cable and positioned themselves both below and above the man.
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According to the NYPD, a detective conversed with the man for approximately 50 minutes until he began moving toward the detective with a multi-tool knife raised in his left hand. He then turned around and climbed the cable away from the detective.
Approximately five minutes later, according to the NYPD, he again came down the suspension cable toward the detective with the multi-tool knife raised. At approximately 4:38 a.m., an Emergency Service Unit sergeant on the roadbed fired his service rifle, striking him.
He was removed from the suspension cable and taken by ambulance to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was pronounced deceased. The NYPD identified him as Chaun Bottom, 41. The department says his multi-tool knife was recovered from the scene.
The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation opened an investigation on September 8, 2026, under Executive Law 70-b. The Attorney General says officers recovered a Leatherman multi-tool, and calls its account preliminary and subject to change.
The NYPD Force Investigation Division is investigating with the prosecutor having jurisdiction. When the investigation is complete, the case goes to the First Deputy Commissioner’s Use of Force Review Board. No finding has been published.
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