A preliminary account, according to the Police Department, of the fatal police shooting Thursday:

About 10:30 p.m., officer Omar J. Edwards leaves a police service area in East Harlem. He is off duty and in plain clothes.

A block away, Edwards confronts a man, believed to be Miguel Santiago, who is breaking into his car. They scuffle, but the man escapes by slipping out of his sweat shirt.

Edwards takes chase and, at some point, pulls out his service revolver.

Three officers in an unmarked police car see the chase. At some point they see that one of the men has a gun. They pull over.

The officers exit their car, and officer Andrew Dunton fires at Edwards six times, hitting him three times in the left side from a distance of about 15 feet.

According to the Police Department, Santiago and the other officers said that Dunton had identified himself as a police officer and had demanded that Edwards drop his gun.

The two other officers apprehend Santiago after chasing him down the street.

NEW YORK TIMES