shortly before 11 p.m., Buffalo Police Officers were dispatched on Minnesota Avenue in the city’s University District, after multiple 911 calls reported that 58-year-old Charles Butler was experiencing a mental health crisis and threatening people with knives inside an apartment building.
According to officials, emergency medical personnel who initially responded to the call told dispatchers that Butler had several individuals at knifepoint, prompting police to respond. When officers forced entry into the apartment after Butler refused repeated commands to open the door, he was seen holding two knives and advancing toward them in the hallway.
Video shows one officer attempting to stop Butler with a taser, but the device failed to incapacitate him as he continued moving toward the doorway where officers were standing. Moments later, another officer fired two shots, striking Butler in the torso. Officers and paramedics then attempted life-saving measures before Butler was transported to Erie County Medical Center, where he later died. Authorities say Butler had recently relocated to Western New York and had a documented history of violent offenses in other states. The officers involved were placed on administrative leave while the shooting is reviewed by the department and investigators from the New York State Attorney General’s Office, as required under state law.
