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UPDATE: An Asbury Park police sergeant shot and killed a barricaded man who threatened an officer with a knife moments after another promised he'd get a haircut if he surrendered, recordings released Tuesday show.
A police bodycam shows officers negotiating at the door with Hasani Best, 39, who was armed with a knife when he barricaded himself inside a 4th Avenue apartment after a domestic dispute around 9 p.m. Aug. 21, State Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.
"You get a haircut, I'll come out," Best says (5:36 in YouTube link).
An officer laughs and replies: "You put the knife down, I'll cut this sh*t off! You've got my word, you come I'll cut it all off tomorrow."
"We'll let you cut his hair, come on," another officer says, hoping to get Best safely into custody.
Moments later, Best cracks the door open -- still armed with a knife -- and threatens to stab an officer.
That's when Asbury Park Police Sgt. Sean DeShader fired two shots at Best, Grewal said.
Best was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, where he was pronounced dead around 10:30 p.m.
State law requires that the Attorney General’s Office conduct investigations of a person’s death when it happens "occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officer’s official capacity or while the decedent is in custody."
Grewal said he released the recordings under a directive that he issued last year that requires doing so when requested in a use-of-force law enforcement incident "once the initial phase of the investigation is substantially complete."
That ordinarily takes 20 days, he said.
“Under state law and the Independent Prosecutor Directive, when the entire investigation is complete, the case will be presented to a grand jury, typically consisting of 16 to 23 citizens, to make the ultimate decision regarding whether criminal charges will be filed,” the attorney general said.
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