Police release videos, chilling 911 call from man killed by officers in Utica; ‘I want them to kill me’

Utica, N.Y. – Utica police Wednesday released body camera videos and an audio recording of a 911 call from a suicidal man who was later killed by officers.

The 911 call recordings reveal that he told dispatchers he wanted police to kill him. The videos capture the confrontation of the man with a knife and the officers talking to him and then fatally shooting him when he moved toward them.

On Wednesday, police released the recording of the approximately six minute 911 call the man made before his death. They also released a 19-minute video produced by the department that included parts of the 911 calls and excerpts from the body cameras of officers. They also released to the media each officers’ body camera video.

Around 7:50 p.m. Sept., 12, police encountered David Litts, 61, during a mental health call at his home, 1601 Nielson St.

Litts was armed with a kitchen knife and was acting erratically, police said. During the confrontation, officers shot at Litts four times, according to the body camera footage released by Utica police. Litts was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Utica Police Chief Mark Williams told Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard Sept. 13 that Litts told dispatchers he wanted police to kill him.

An officer trained in hostage negotiations and crisis intervention attempted to negotiate with Litts for five to 10 minutes, according to Williams. The officer told Litts they “just wanted to have a conversation” and that they didn’t want to hurt him.

In the video released, one officer can be heard requesting a less-lethal shot gun, containing bean bag rounds.

Litts can be seen yelling profanities and waving the knife before approaching the police.

Sgt. Tyler Mowers, a 7-year veteran of the force, and Police Officer Bryan Gil, a 2-year veteran of the force, were the two officers who shot Litts, according to a video made and released by the Utica Police Department. The officers were placed on administrative leave with pay after the shooting.

Litts called 911 to report he was feeling suicidal, according to the 911 recording.

At first, Litts is calmly speaking with the dispatcher and says that he has “been through a bad time.” Litts says he has been wanting to kill himself with a gun, according to the recording.

The dispatcher asks Litts if he has access to firearms and Litts confirms he has access to a .22 caliber gun.

Moments later, Litts’ tone switches from calmly explaining his situation to loudly pleading with the dispatcher.

As the dispatcher continues to try and get more information from Litts, the 61-year-old begins explaining why he is suicidal.

“I have long-term covid and it is killing me,” Litts said. “I need to get out of here because I threatened my wife with a gun.”

Litts begins telling the dispatcher that he doesn’t want to live anymore because his wife had left him and he was a veteran who never received any help when he retired.

As he gets increasingly upset, Litts’ threats to officers become more frequent and violent.

“You want to get me, get me, but I am going to kill somebody on the way out.” Litts said.

Litts made it clear to the dispatcher that his goal was suicide by cop.

“I am not going to cooperate,” Litts said “I want them to kill me.”

Dispatchers told responding officers that Litts was erratic and threatening both police and himself. Litts had also told dispatchers he had access to several guns including a handgun, shotgun and a M-16 rifle, according to the 911 call.

Despite threatening to shoot officers, Litts came out of his home with only a kitchen knife, according to the body camera footage.

After talking to officers, the video shows Litts quickly move toward police with the knife. Officers attempted to stop him, telling Litts to drop the knife, before shooting him.

In the video, police handcuffed Litts after he was shot. They removed the knife from Litts and began life-saving efforts before being taken to a local hospital where he later died, police said.

The shooting is under investigation by the Utica Police Department and the state Attorney General’s Office. The investigations could take several weeks or months to be completed.

The Kitchen Knife

The kitchen knife David Litts was holding during the mental health call to his home.

Staff writer Anne Hayes and Darian Stevenson cover breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach Hayes at ahayes@syracuse.com.You can reach Stevenson at dstevenson@syracuse.com

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