Laughter to Gunfire in One Minute: A Look at Two NJ Police Shootings

ASBURY PARK — When city officers marched up the steps of the 4th Avenue home on a call reporting a domestic dispute, they knew they were going to see 39-year-old Hasani Best.

As one of the officers occasionally reminded Best during an hour-long armed standoff through the door to his bedroom, he and the cop had been through this twice before. During those previous times, the officer said, they had talked it out. Didn’t even need to use handcuffs, the officer reminded him.

But this time was different.

Armed with a steak knife, Best refused to come out of his room after officers fired a Taser, the electric currents failing to subdue him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.