Cheektowaga, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Cheektowaga Police Department has identified the man who was shot and killed by a Cheektowaga police officer in a shooting in North Buffalo on Wednesday.
Cheektowaga Police Chief Brian Coons officially identified the deceased individual as Hugh Davis Jr., a 60-year-old male whose address was listed as 269 Sanders Road, where the incident took place.
According to Coons, Davis was staying as a guest at the Fairfield Inn on Genesee Street in Cheektowaga on Monday, Aug. 11. Coon says there was some damage to his TV in his room, forcing the manager of the hotel to confront him on that and hand him his bill.
However, Davis returned to the hotel a short time later to further argue the bill once he noticed the price of the TV listed.
"At that time, he became irate, started throwing the computer monitors, the credit card machine and the phones there at the front desk at the manager, placing her in fear and forcing her to hide in the back room," said Coons during a Thursday press conference at Cheektowaga Police headquarters. "A male employee confronted Mr. Davis at the front door, trying to get him to leave. At that point, Mr. Davis turned, punched the male in the head, and he remains in the hospital in an induced coma."
Following a thorough investigation by Cheektowaga Police that positively identified Davis, officers then notified their supervision at the department, and then informed the Buffalo Police Department that they were going to 269 Sanders to make a summary arrest.
"Per our policy, our officers are allowed to investigate a case as far as they can take it. Policy in New York State law enable our officers to go into another jurisdiction to make that arrest," Coons noted.
Coons says once officers arrived at the address, the officers came into contact with Davis, where he lunged at the officers with a large knife, narrowly missing one officer, and then another officer after he swiped at them with the knife again, narrowly missing the unprotected parts of the neck and chest.
"An officer was then forced to fire three rounds from their department-issued 9mm handgun to stop Mr. Davis, as he was still holding the knife in-hand and continuing to try and attack the officers. My officers then notified our dispatch to request Buffalo PD, Buffalo Fire and AMR," Coons detailed. "The officers then began life-saving measures, and continued to do so until relieved by Buffalo Fire and Buffalo PD. Mr. Davis was pronounced dead at the scene."
Out of respect to the family, Cheektowaga police are withholding the body-worn camera footage of the incident until officials can meet with Davis' family and allow them to view the footage.
All four officers involved in the incident were uninjured, remain on paid administrative leave, as per policy, and are cooperating fully with the investigation.
In addition to the Buffalo Police Department and the New York State Attorney General's Office investigating the incident, Cheektowaga Police's internal affairs unit has also begun an investigation into the administrative actions of the officers.