VIDEOS: Police fatally shoot knife-wielding man on I-84

BEACON – A chase involving a knife-wielding suspect ended when City of Beacon police shot and killed the man along Interstate 84 Thursday.

State police, in conjunction with the City of Beacon Police Department, are continuing their investigation today of the fatal shooting. Dutchess County District Attorney William Grady directed that an investigation be made, according to a statement issued late Thursday.

In the statement, state police gave the following account of the events that preceded the shooting:

At approximately 3:30 p.m. Thursday, a white male suspect, while at Memorial Park in Beacon, car-jacked a vehicle at knife point. Beacon police responded.

The suspect subsequently abandoned the stolen vehicle on North Elm Street. Police chased the man on foot through a wooded area near I-84.

The suspect ran in a northerly direction across the eastbound and westbound lanes of I-84 near Exit 11, according to police.

Just off the westbound shoulder, the suspect threatened pursuing officers with a large knife and subsequently was shot and killed by police.

Police provided no other details. The suspect was not identified, pending notification of family. There was no further update from city or state police early this morning.

Dutchess County Medical Examiner Dr. Dennis Chute said an autopsy was scheduled for today, Friday.

One eyewitness said he saw a man, clearly armed with a large knife, being chased by police at the intersection of Route 9D and I-84.

Ben Royce of Beacon told the Poughkeepsie Journal he was driving north on Route 9D when he saw police cars and officers going into some woods.

"While I'm creeping forward, a guy comes out with a knife," Royce said.

"He goes across four lanes of highway, and the cops, too," he said.

He said that soon after, he heard multiple shots, and then he saw a man lying on the ground.

An eyewitness who requested anonymity said a man ran in front of his car as he was driving eastbound on I-84.

The man, carrying a large knife, ran across the eastbound lanes, crossed over the divider and continued running across the westbound lanes, the eyewitness said.

Police, who were giving chase, shot the man when he turned to face them on the westbound shoulder, an eyewitness said.

I-84 was closed for several hours, just east of the Route 9D overpass, as police investigated.

Linda Foglia, spokeswoman for the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, said that reports by other media that an inmate had escaped were incorrect.

"There were no escaped inmates, either from Downstate Correctional Facility or Fishkill Correctional Facility," Foglia said.

Traffic was impacted for miles in the area, with heavy traffic reported on Route 9 and significant volume on the Bear Mountain and Mid-Hudson bridges.

The area of Memorial Park in Beacon where the car-jacking took place is about in the city's center, and is an area of mixed residential and commercial uses. It's typically busy with people and traffic in mid-afternoon.

Journal reporter Craig Wolf contributed to this report. John Ferro: 845-437-4816; jferro@poughkeepsiejournal.com; Twitter: @PoJoEnviro