GRAPHIC VIDEO: NJ Police Shoot, Kill Man Who Lunged at Them with Scissors

New Jersey police shot and killed an emotionally disturbed man who allegedly charged at them with a pair of scissors on July 23.

Dramatic bodycam footage shows the moment James P. Manzo, 27, was shot by officers responding to a call about a man behaving erratically at the Asbury Inn.

The video shows officers and paramedics talking to Manzo from outside his bedroom door, asking him if he is alright. Reports said Manzo spoke with the officers before closing the door and refusing to allow them entry.

“We’re not trying to arrest you, we’re just trying to have a conversation, man,” an officer is heard saying in the video.

One of the paramedics at the scene tries to glean medical information from Manzo, but he refuses to cooperate and tells them to leave.

An officer eventually opens the door and tries to enter the apartment when Manzo lunges out of the doorway, brandishing a pair of scissors. Police then fire five shots as Manzo falls to the floor.

A report identified the officer that shot Manzo as James Crawford, who has been with the Asbury Park Police Department since 2017.

“Crawford fired five shots — all of which struck Manzo — from a distance of about 2 or 3 feet,” the report said.

“The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office is investigating, which is standard for any police-involved shooting,” according to ABC 7 New York.

Reports said police in Camden, New Jersey, have recently launched a use-of-force policy that is more restrictive than many others around the state.

The new policy instructs officers to only fire their weapons and use force as a “last resort.”

“We have long trained our officers in de-escalation and force minimization, but we wanted a policy that reflected that training,” said Camden Police Chief J. Scott Thomson.

However, Stuart Alterman, an attorney who often represents police, called the new policy an “unnecessary progressive stance” that will “only cause police officers to second guess themselves during the most critical moments of their careers.”

“With all due respect to those individuals involved in drafting this new use-of-force policy, I’m wondering if it was really drafted by anarchists instead of those individuals attempting to support police officers,” Alterman concluded.