Police: White Plains Officer Killed Knife-Wielding Man

A White Plains man described as “emotionally disturbed” was shot and killed by police early Saturday morning after he attacked officers first with a hatchet and later with a butcher’s knife, Public Safety Commissioner David Chong said. An officer shot the man twice with his service weapon only after a TASER and a bean bag shotgun failed to have any effect, Chong said.

At around 5:08 a.m., police responded to the apartment of 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlin in the Winbrook Apartments at 135 S. Lexington Avenue after receiving a 9-1-1 call reporting a person in distress. When they arrived at the apartment, officers heard screams and incoherent voices coming through the heavy metal door. They tried to get Chamberlin to open the door, but their orders were ignored.

“In fear of people being trapped inside the apartment or somebody inside the apartment harming themselves, the officers immediately called for backup and attempted to breach the apartment door,” Chong told reporters at a news conference later Saturday morning.

While police tried to breach the door, Chong said, Chamberlin used a crack in the door to swing a hatchet at police as they tried to enter. An officer was able to grab the hatchet from Chamberlin, and after a long struggle police managed to break down the door and get into the apartment.

When police entered Chamberlin’s apartment from the narrow hallway, Chamberlin came after the officers holding a butcher’s knife. One officer shot him with a TASER, but Chong said it “had no effect.” Chamberlin was then shot four times in the legs and lower abdomen with a bean bag shotgun but kept advancing on the officers. Finally, Chong said, the officer closest to Chamberlin fired two shots from his service revolver, striking Chamberlin and dropping him to the ground.

“The officers attempted to give the man [Chamberlin] first aid, and the man continued to slash away at the officers,” Chong added. “At one point, the man attempted to cut his own throat.”

Chamberlin was taken to the White Plains Hospital Emergency Room, where he was pronounced dead at 7:09 a.m.

Chong wouldn’t identify the officer who shot Chamberlin, but said he was an eight-year veteran with a good record who had never before discharged his firearm in the line of duty. He said an investigation into the shooting is still ongoing, but suggested that preliminary findings indicate the officer acted appropriately.

“We feel that all department guidelines were followed and all procedures were properly followed,” Chong said.

Four officers were taken to White Plains Hospital and treated for trauma, Chong said. The officer who fired the deadly shots was also treated for chest pains and was still at the hospital at the time of Saturday’s news conference.

Police tape blocked off the front entrance of 135 S. Lexington, part of the 450-unit Winbrook public housing project Saturday afternoon. Some residents of the building said they were awakened by the gunshots or the door being knocked in while others had no idea a shooting had occurred.

“I heard the door bang in. I thought it was upstairs,” Sarah Smith, who lives on one of the floors above Chamberlin, said. “Then I looked out the window and seen all the police cars. My son was asleep. I heard gunshots, and next thing you know, I woke my son up.”

Anthony Haywood, who lives on the first floor, said he didn’t know anything was happening until he heard the gunshots.

“When I looked out the peephole, it’s right across from me, and I saw the cops and everything was going on there,” he said. “I saw the blood on the floor.”

Neighbors who knew Chamberlin, mostly in passing, described him as quiet and said he kept to himself.

“He never really said much,” Haywood said. “I’ve never seen him really act out or anything.”

The investigation is continuing, Chong said, as the police are working with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office.