Man Shot By Newton Police Identified, 911 Call Released

NEWTON, MA – Authorities identified the man killed Tuesday by Newton police and released new details about the shooting, including the 911 call to police.

Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Michael Conlon, 28, of Newton was fatally shot Tuesday less than an hour after police were called for a report of a man with a knife.

Read more: 2 Newton Officers Fatally Shot Man With Knife: Middlesex DA

Jan. 5 just before 1:45 p.m., the owner of the Newton Highlands candy store named “Indulge!” called 911. On the call, the dispatcher asks the owner what the address is, and you can hear the owner talking to the man.

"Can you please put the knife away?" she said. "I know you're a nice kid," she said. "I can't leave my store."

The man can be heard in the background.

"I didn't mean to scare you... I need you right now," he said.

The owner can then be heard telling the man can to calm down as he asks her to come talk to his neighbor. At one point the man can be heard saying; "I need to show her how serious I am.... I will only murder if someone hurts my family."

When the man asks her who she's on the phone with she tells him she's on the phone with UPS. She tells him she'll meet him outside. The call lasts about 3 minutes, and at the end, she tells the dispatcher the police have arrived.

During that time, a different dispatcher relayed to police units a report of an armed robbery in progress at the candy store, according to a recording of the interaction.

"16 Lincoln St, a possible armed robbery," he says.

Two Newton Police Officers, one in plainclothes and one uniformed, arrived then and found Conlon, who lived on the second floor of the building, holding a knife in the second floor hallway of the building.

Police called for additional officers and a negotiator, according to the DA. A clinician with mental health expertise arrived before the shooting but did not go into the building because of safety concerns, since the man was armed with a knife, according to the Middlesex District Attorney's office.

More Newton police officers as well as Massachusetts State Police troopers then showed up, closing off the street.

The District Attorney said Conlon ran upstairs to the third floor, and police followed him. There are two apartments on the third floor. A woman who also lives on the third floor of the building left her apartment, allowing officers to enter her home creating distance from Conlon, who was in the hallway.

According to investigators, officers spoke with Conlon, responding to his requests, offering to contact his family and requesting that he drop the knife. He became confrontational with police, arming himself with a metal fire extinguisher in addition to the knife, investigators said.

The preliminary investigation suggests that after Conlon refused to comply with verbal commands to drop the knife, Newton Police attempted to deploy less than lethal force. A Massachusetts State Police Trooper also deployed a Taser that failed to subdue him.

The Middlesex District Attorney's office said Conlon then "advanced on officers while still holding the knife in a threatening manner."

Two Newton Police officers fired their service weapons striking the man. Based on radio transmissions from Newton Police, the shots were fired at approximately 2:11 p.m.

Then Conlon was transported to Newton-Wellesley Hospital, where he died.

Newton Police officers involved in the shooting have been placed on temporary paid administrative leave, the DA said.

The cause and manner of death are pending a ruling by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Read more: Newton Residents Protest Police Shooting, Others Counter Protest