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Hospitalized man shot by Albany Police is identified as investigation continues

 The parking lot at the corner of New Scotland & Dana Avenues where Jordan Young was shot.
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC
The parking lot at the corner of New Scotland & Dana Avenues where Jordan Young was shot.

The man shot by Albany Police early Monday morning has been identified.

Center for Law and Justice Executive Director Alice Green says the 32-year-old man shot along New Scotland Avenue after charging police with a knife is Jordan Young, a Morris Street resident.

"Mr. Young walked his dog three or four times a day," Green said. "So he's always in the area. He always carried with him a small pocket knife. Not a huge knife like is being portrayed."

Albany Police Spokesman Steve Smith said “It's important to clarify that this was not a pocket knife. We located a knife at the scene. We have that knife in our evidence has a four inch blade as well as a three inch handle. So in total it's a seven inch long knife."

Green says Young, bipolar and schizophrenic, has had two recent encounters with Albany Police. His family told Green Young was treated poorly by officers in one of the previous encounters, January 14th.

"The family claims that Young, two weeks ago, was sitting in his car in front of his house, the police went up to his car, broke the window and pulled him out of the car, took him to the police station to where they beat him," said Green. "They have photographs of what he looked like after. And, you know, we don't understand that."

Chief Eric Hawkins and Mayor Kathy Sheehan have promised transparency as the investigation continues and body cam footage of the shooting is reviewed. Body cam footage of Young's prior encounters will also likely be reviewed. Nairobi Vives chairs the Albany Community Police Review Board.

"Our members have been in contact with Chief Hawkins and leadership from the Office of Professional Standards to arrange a review of body worn camera footage to see firsthand," said Vives. "With the passing of Proposition 7, the Albany Community Police Review Board now has the authority to conduct investigations independent of the Office of Professional Standards. After reviewing the body worn camera footage, the CPRB will determine if an independent investigation is warranted in this case. We stand committed to ensuring that this incident, and all others, are handled appropriately and with transparency."

Chief Hawkins told reporters Monday that police happened upon Young walking his dog after being dispatched to the area following a 911 call of a man being held at gunpoint in a Morris Street residence.

"And that someone had, escaped, I guess, to the roof, and was running across rooftops," Hawkins said. "And so it was a fairly chaotic scene and you know, the officers get this information that somebody's being held at gunpoint in a home invasion, and they're getting this additional information, and they're trying to sort all of this out. And so when they encountered the man with the dog, the officers didn't know what this person's involvement was, or if the person was involved at all, but, but it was important information that they had to investigate, you know, what was going on there."

While Young remains at Albany Medical Center in critical condition after being shot in the torso, Green has several other questions for authorities.

"We don't know why the police department continues to try to make a connection between the 911 call that they received regarding a home invasion and Mr. Young, we just don't understand that," Green said. "They haven't been able to explain it to me. And also the question regarding tasing, you know, when they approached, you know, they claim that he that he was not responsive to their orders. Did they try to tase him? We have not received an answer to that from the police department yet."

Again, Smith: “...yeah when we have all the information you know, we’ll certainly put that information out. We’re still trying to investigate and sort that out ourselves.”

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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