Syracuse man killed
South State Street is blocked off at Woodland Avenue as a police-involved shooting is under investigation
A Syracuse man is dead, after police say, he ran from police officers and pointed a weapon at them in a "threatening manner."
Syracuse Police Chief Frank Fowler says around 2:45 Saturday morning, police pulled a car over at the corner of South State St. and Beard Avenue for failing to use a turn signal before turning. When the driver pulled over, the front seat passenger, Dominique Smith, 21, of Syracuse got out of the car.
Police say officers asked Smith to get back into the car, but he ran away. Officers chased him and tried to use a taser, but they weren't able to reach him.
Fowler says Smith took a weapon from his waistband and pointed it at officers. An officer fired and hit Smith in the neck. Smith fell to the ground and was taken to Upstate University Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Smith was recently identified as a suspect in a reckless endangerment case. Fowler says Smith allegedly fired a 9 mm handgun at a person and missed. He says the fact police were looking for him may have caused Smith to run from officers Saturday morning.
"He knew that he would be the subject of an investigation in which he tried to kill someone, and he had a loaded handgun on him at the time," says Fowler.
Back in May, another man was shot and killed by a Syracuse police officer during an armed confrontation at the Regional Transportation Center. His name was Benjamin Campione. Campione's brother spoke to CNYCentral's Jim Kenyon. Read that story here.
