The incident began with Kennedy allegedly smoking pot in the middle of Times Square. By the time it was over, Kennedy had a large knife in hand, and a phalanx of police officers was following him -- guns raised -- while onlookers trotted alongside with their camera phones.
In video of the incident, onlookers call out for Kennedy to lie down. He doesn't. The street is filled with slow-moving police officers all focused on Kennedy, who is stepping backward. The sound of multiple gunshots is heard.
According to news accounts, police said they pepper-sprayed Kennedy six times and he didn't surrender but lunged at them. That's when they opened fire.
Members of Kennedy's family told the New York Daily News they were upset about the shooting -- "it doesn't take 12 bullets to kill one person."
But Kennedy also threatened officers in a similar incident in 2008, according to the New York Post.
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly pointed out the earlier incident, the Post reported, saying Kennedy had been arrested "for doing roughly the same thing with a screwdriver in Manhattan."
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