NYPD brass said the alleged fare-beater had charged at the officers with a knife and made verbal threats against their lives; he was last said to be in critical condition, along with one of the bystanders

Yeah, that may have been how it started.

Body-worn camera footage, which Maddrey said he reviewed before the press conference, allegedly showed the man make a verbal threat to the officers. He told the cops, "I'm going to kill you if you don't stop following me," the chief said.

Definitely sounds like the police at fault, and the guy wasn't a walking time bomb or anything.

I get that the situation with the police in the US is cooked, but saying this was over a $2 fare isn't really being honest about the situation.