Shocking video of St. Louis Police shooting and killing a knife-wielding man last Tuesday shows exactly what happened before police opened fire.

The incident, which occured only miles from Ferguson, Mo., unfolded shortly after 23-year-old Kajieme Powell began asking officers to shoot him while holding a knife.

According to St. Louis Police Chief Sam Dotson, the two officers had no choice but to open fire after Powell began “charging” towards them.

“If a person is charging you with a knife and they’re within three or four feet, that’s a lethal range for a knife,” Dotson said.

Protesters assembled at the scene argued that the officers should have used a tazer to subdue Powell.

A Missouri police officer speaking to demonstrators Thursday night said Powell’s sweatshirt would have rendered their tazers ineffective.

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