Brentwood man shot dead after charging officers with knife, Suffolk commissioner says

Suffolk County police shot and killed a knife-wielding former New York City correction officer outside his home in Brentwood Friday after the man, already covered in blood from two self-inflicted puncture wounds, lunged at responding officers with the weapon, Suffolk Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said.

The incident began at 12:30 p.m. Friday when three Third Precinct officers responded to a home on Wurz Street after receiving a call by a family member to check on the welfare of Bruce Boyd, 54, Catalina said at a news conference in Bay Shore.

When officers arrived on the scene they encountered Boyd’s wife in front of the home, the commissioner said.

After the wife let police inside the home, officers found Boyd "holding a knife drenched in blood from what appears to be at least two self-inflicted wounds," Catalina said.

The responding officers then retreated out the front door and onto the lawn, where they continued urging Boyd to drop the knife, Catalina said.

"Mr. Boyd continues charging at the officers, at which point at least one officer discharges their firearm," the commissioner said. 

The officers performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. Boyd was taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore, where he was declared dead, Catalina said.

The wife was not injured. The responding officers were treated for tinnitus and shock at the hospital.

The number of shots fired by police, Catalina said, remains under investigation.

Boyd had a history of "emotionally disturbed calls," but did not have a criminal record, the commissioner said.

The New York State Attorney General’s Office, which investigates all police-involved shootings, was notified, he said.

Suffolk County police Friday night cordoned off Wurz Street to vehicular traffic, attracting a handful of curious neighbors in the quiet Brentwood community.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.