NYPD body-cam video shows cop shoot knife-wielding man charging at him in East Harlem

The NYPD released police body-camera footage of an officer firing a single shot at a man wielding a 13-inch knife who charged at him after clashing with workers earlier this month at an East Harlem grocery store.

Footage of the incident shows Carlos Santiago, 53, being shot once in the abdomen by NYPD Officer Maxwell Bindman after Santiago refused orders to drop his blade and instead ran straight toward him on April 6 around 1:38 a.m.

“Drop the knife!” Bindman ordered Santiago four times before firing the shot.

Santiago, who was hysterical on the ground after being struck, was rushed to Harlem Hospital where he underwent surgery and was in critical but stable condition.

“The officers gave multiple verbal commands to drop the knife and attempted to create physical distance between himself and the subject,” NYPD Inspector Andrew Natiw said at a police briefing after the incident. “But the subject quickly advanced toward the officers with the knife extended out.”

When the suspect “got in close proximity to the officers,” one of them fired, Natiw said, striking the suspect.

About 20 minutes before the shooting, around 1:15 a.m., Santiago got into an argument with workers inside the City Fresh Market grocery store on Third Ave. near E. 120th St. Santiago was then removed from the store by store security after refusing to leave.

But he returned about 20 minutes later, standing outside the store while waving the knife and threatening store workers for several minutes. Workers locked the door and called 911.

“Following the dispute, the male suddenly became irate and disorderly and had to be physically removed from the store by multiple employees,” Natiw said. “A short time later, the subject returned to the store. When he returned he had a large kitchen knife in his hand and was banging on the exterior glass of the window with the knife.”

Bindman and another officer who arrived on scene were taken to a hospital for observation but were not hurt.

Santiago was charged with menacing a police officer and criminal possession of a weapon.

Natiw said it wasn’t yet clear if the suspect has mental health issues or what his argument with store workers was about.

The suspect has been arrested six times in the past on charges including criminal possession of a controlled substance, burglary, felony assault, criminal contempt and criminal sale of a controlled substance, police said.