‘Put down the knife’: Cops release footage of deadly police shooting in Netanya

Police on Saturday pushed back against claims that officers unnecessarily shot dead a man in the coastal city of Netanya the night before, publishing bodycam footage of the incident.

Late Friday, 34-year-old Michael Hasson was reported to have attacked his mother in an unspecified manner and then barricaded himself inside their apartment while smashing window panes. Police said neighbors called the cops and that upon arriving, officers attempted to subdue Hasson, who then pulled out knives and rushed at them.

Hasson was first tasered but continued to move toward the officers, putting them at risk and leading them to fire at him, according to police. Medics declared him dead.

A lawyer representing the family said the death of Hasson, who suffered mental health issues, could have been prevented.

“The report that the woman was attacked by her son, which brought police to the scene, was not accurate,” attorney Rotem Cohen told the Kan public broadcaster. “The dire outcome could have been prevented.”

Police published footage of the incident, as well as a recording made to the 100 emergency number.

“Police were called to deal with a suspected incident of domestic violence, as reported to emergency line 100 by citizens, and as revealed by further questioning of neighbors at the scene,” police said.

המשטרה משחררת תיעוד מצלמות הגוף של השוטרים שירו במיכאל חסן בנתניה
1) שיחת הטלפון ל-100
2) חסן נראה עם סכין בידו וצעקות "תוריד את הסכין"
3) שוטר יורה טייזר – ומיד לאחריו כנראה שוטר אחר יורה בו.
חסן לא נראה מנסה לפגוע בשוטרים אבל כן מתקרב לכיוונם עם הסכין.
רק מחר השוטרים במח"ש. pic.twitter.com/90vl7qcAVt

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In the recording, a woman can be heard saying: “There’s fighting in a room, someone is threatening his mother. The son is holding his mother hostage and breaking things, there’s broken glass… it’s not normal what is happening here.”

The bodycam video showed officers arriving at the scene. “There was a lot of destruction, glass that was allegedly thrown into the street by the suspect and endangered the passersby,” police said.

An officer was seen attempting to persuade the suspect to open the door, threatening to have it breached by the Fire and Rescue Service within five minutes.

“Police conducted a long negotiation process at the suspect’s door, in which they asked him to open the door in order to make sure that there was no further danger to public safety and the suspect himself, without his cooperation,” police said.

The video cuts to the door opening, with a medic standing outside asking Hasson how he feels and to come out with his hands empty.

“Why do you have a knife in your hand?” the medic asked as he began to move away from the door, while telling the officers that the suspect is brandishing a blade.

“Put down the knife,” an officer is heard calling out to Hasson multiple times, as he stepped out of the door while holding the knife.

Hasson then yelled an expletive at the officer, telling him to “get out of here now,” before returning into the apartment.

One officer was seen walking down the hallways with a taser, as Hasson reappeared.

“Enough,” an officer said as a taser is fired, followed by gunshots several moments later.

It was unclear from the video if Hasson had attempted to stab the officers, although he could be seen approaching them while brandishing a knife.

“After police ordered the suspect to remove [the knife] from his hands several times before the shooting, he continued to endanger them. The suspect came out toward the police and medics with knives in his hands, putting their lives in an immediate and real risk, and therefore was neutralized after warnings that he should stop,” police said.

The officers are expected to be questioned by the Justice Ministry’s  Police Internal Investigations Department on Sunday, the Haaretz daily reported.

According to the family, at least one of the officers on the scene was already acquainted with them and had been called to a previous incident that resulted in the hospitalization of Hasson in a mental health institution.

His sister told the Ynet news site that her brother had severe epilepsy, and that what was reported to the police as a domestic assault was in fact the man having a seizure.

“Why did they shoot him at close range? Why did he need to be shot after the taser?” asked his sister, who was not named. “He took care of his mother all week and he was here with her. Why shoot a person having a seizure?”

Hasson’s brother-in-law asked similar questions about the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

“They know him, know he was hospitalized. Why shoot him at such close range? If he ran at them with a knife and threatened, shoot him in the legs. Why kill?” the man said.

The Kan report also noted that Hasson’s mother showed no signs of being injured in the Friday night incident.