Family and friends of the man police shot and killed at the Grand Central subway station Saturday said he had no history of violence \u2014 and say the NYPD\u2019s description of a man slashing older people with a machete doesn\u2019t sound like the person they knew.<\/p>\n
\u201cHim going around stabbing somebody and trying to kill people? That\u2019s not my nephew,\u201d Regina Baker said in a phone interview on Monday, two days after an NYPD officer fatally shot 44-year-old Anthony Griffin in Midtown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Officials said Griffin attacked three people with a machete at the station, refused officers\u2019 repeated commands to drop his knife and moved toward the officers with the weapon extended.<\/p>\n The three people authorities say Griffin attacked \u2014 an 84-year-old man, a 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman \u2014 were expected to survive their injuries. Officials said they became aware of the attacks when someone alerted two detectives at Grand Central that morning that a man with a knife had assaulted multiple people in the subway, and the detectives found one of the victims coming up the stairs.<\/p>\n But some of Griffin\u2019s relatives and longtime friends said they are struggling to understand police accounts that he told officers his name was \u201cLucifer,\u201d and that he caused the carnage in the Saturday morning attacks. In interviews on Monday, they told Gothamist they wished authorities had handled the incident differently and done more to avoid using lethal force against Griffin.<\/p>\n \u201cEverybody\u2019s clueless on what happened,\u201d Richard Acevedo said, standing next to a few of Griffin\u2019s friends on the Mott Haven block where they all grew up. Several feet away, neighbors added candles and photos to a growing memorial for Griffin, who was known locally by his rap name, Fox 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was always positive, never negative,\u201d Acevedo said.<\/p>\n Anthony Griffin, 44, in a photo from a memorial at his old Mott Haven building.<\/p>\n Brittany Kriegstein \/ Gothamist<\/p>\n According to the NYPD, Griffin has been previously arrested on charges in the city of grand larceny and criminal trespassing, and was arrested a third time outside of the city. Officials haven\u2019t described any history of violence, and said the NYPD does not have any records of mental health incidents involving Griffin.<\/p>\n Rodney Montgomery said that he met Griffin in their building when Griffin was just 4 years old, and Montgomery was 12. He said Griffin never showed signs of violence, and he wasn\u2019t aware of Griffin having any serious mental health issues.<\/p>\n \u201cI watched that boy grow up,\u201d Montgomery said. \u201cWe\u2019re not condoning what he did, but you didn\u2019t have to take his life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey could have tased him,\u201d Baker said, her voice quavering with emotion. She called for police to release the officers\u2019 body-camera footage of the incident, saying it would help provide closure for her family. In a statement<\/a> following Saturday\u2019s incident, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the footage would be released as police continued their investigation.<\/p>\n Baker said she found out about the incident from a friend on Facebook. \u201cI just fell to the floor,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s my sister\u2019s only child.\u201d<\/p>\n The NYPD confirmed Monday that officers did not use Tasers in the incident. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a press briefing Saturday that \u201cofficers were confronted with an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n She said the officers \u201cattempted to de-escalate\u201d the situation and even offered to get Griffin help, but when he ignored their commands to disarm, they \u201ctook decisive action\u201d to stop him.<\/p>\n The NYPD patrol guide<\/a> allows police to use Tasers to help subdue \u201caggressive subjects\u201d and people experiencing mental health crises. The guide instructs officers that a Taser is considered a \u201cless lethal device\u201d that can be used to gain someone\u2019s compliance, on the same level of force as pepper spray.<\/p>\n Griffin’s memorial on E. 138th Street.<\/p>\n Brittany Kriegstein \/ Gothamist<\/p>\n But in about a third of cases when members of the NYPD used Tasers in 2024, the devices failed to effectively subdue people, according to the department\u2019s latest annual use-of-force report<\/a>.<\/p>\n NYPD data shows Tasers have failed at a similar rate<\/a> in recent years, and police have shot<\/a> multiple people<\/a> \u2014 sometimes fatally \u2014 after Tasers<\/a> were ineffective<\/a>.<\/p>\n Baker said Griffin was always very close with his mother, who died of cancer several years ago, and moved to his own apartment in Queens in 2024 after spending most of his life in the Bronx.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a giving, caring person. He loved people. He would sit with people and he would just talk to them about life,\u201d Baker said. \u201cThat\u2019s why I can\u2019t believe this.\u201d<\/p>\n