It was a tense night in Troy, after a 22-year-old man was shot by police officers after a traffic stop.
It all unfolded along 8th Street, just south of Rensselaer St around 7 Tuesday evening, when Troy police pulled over a vehicle with two people in it.
One of those inside, Dahmeek McDonald was wanted as a parole absconder.
At some point after that, McDonald was shot twice in the torso.
Police chief John Tedesco says word spread quickly, and inaccurately, through the neighborhood that McDonald had been killed.
“We know there’s been a lot of false reports tonight, such as the victim has dies, which obviously is not true, we understand how they feel, but we think by quelling the rumor mill, it’ll put a lot of dissention to rest.”
Tedesco added “One of these subjects identified as Dahmeek McDonald, 22 years of age, was wanted by New York State Paroles as an absconder. During the course of the investigation, a series of untold events took place, which resulted in Mister McDonald being shot twice.”
Tedesco says his officers have been able to keep things under control.
“We will be out there through the night, through the course of the investigation, we’re all working with some community leaders, at this point, a lot of the excitement has quelled, and we hope that it continues to disappear.”
At one point, more than a dozen officers in riot gear were on scene, trying to calm a large crowd, many of whom were visibly upset.
Joyce Mosley, who lives in the neighborhood, says We matter, just as much as the people down that way matter, just as much as people this side matter, we matter too, this is our neighborhood."
Mosley said Tuesday night no one, to that point, had seen Mayor Patrick Madden or anyone from the city council.
“We take care of our neighborhood, and when they come in shooting ours, we are gonna stand up for ours, so we would like the City of Troy, that we’re paying our taxes too, to stand up for us too.”
Malette Cooper, who says she is McDonald's aunt, says “You have problems with the law, doesn’t mean you deserve to die, they have to do their job the way they’re supposed to do their job.”
We're expecting to get more information about the incident, as Tedesco will hold a news conference later Wednesday morning.
There are also plans for a march from the scene of the shooting to City Hall at noon.
Photo: Getty Images