Poughkeepsie Town Police: Officer shot, killed man who attacked social workers with sword
Town of Poughkeepsie police said it started when members of the Dutchess County Mobile Crisis Team were attacked by a man with a sword who they were trying to help.
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Kevin Bryant recounted how he ended up in the middle of the chaos Thursday afternoon on Fair Oaks Drive in the Town of Poughkeepsie that left a social worker injured and a resident dead.
"Just a tragic situation," he said of the events just next door. "Everything happened quickly."
Town of Poughkeepsie police said it started when members of the Dutchess County Mobile Crisis Team were attacked by a man with a sword who they were trying to help.
Several neighbors said they first knew something was wrong when they saw the social worker come down the driveway with blood on her hands and arms, and then go up the driveway of the home next door seeking help.
"Just here working, and then someone comes running out of the house, yelling 'Help me,'" Bryant recalled. "We put a towel on it, brought her down. I hope she's doing alright. Obviously, that's traumatic."
Bryant said the wounds appeared to be from the sword.
Police said two officers then entered the home, where the man with the sword was, along with another man with a head injury. Neighbors say that man was the father of the man with the sword.
Police would not elaborate beyond saying there was a "confrontation," and then one officer shot the man with the sword, who later died at the hospital.
A woman living across the street said the injured social worker shouted a warning to neighbors.
"She told me I needed to go back inside," she said, "so I backed up into the garage."
The investigation has been turned over the New York State Attorney General's office and New York State Police.
Town of Poughkeepsie police say both officers who went into the house were wearing body-cameras.
Both are on administrative leave.
News 12 is awaiting further updates on the injuries and conditions of both the social worker and the man believed to be the father of the man with the sword.
Mental Health America of Poughkeepsie — which runs the mobile crisis team — did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
