The man fatally shot by an off-duty cop on Staten Island had a lengthy rap sheet of at least 22 arrests, including one for assaulting police, law enforcement sources said.
Jesse Campbell, who was killed after pointing a realistic looking BB gun at the officer just after 8 p.m. Friday, was arrested in 2023 on second-degree assault charges for throwing a “porch bin” at a pair of NYPD officers, sources said.
He pleaded guilty and participated in Mental Health Treatment Court until earlier this month as part of the plea deal, according to a spokesperson for the Staten Island District Attorney’s Office.
Campbell, 44, had also been arrested in the past for criminal trespassing, petit larceny, and narcotics, according to sources.
The Staten Island man allegedly told his mom and sister that he intended to be killed by police, hours before he was outside of Andrew’s Diner in Eltingville with the BB gun.
Campbell “has got some problems,” said a local resident, who wished to remain anonymous.
But he insisted Campbell “was a good kid.”
“I think he was just drunk or something, probably running around joking around with a BB gun, and I guess whatever happened, happened,” the man told The Post.
“His mother and father are great people, good family. He’s not all there mentally, he’s got some problems. His brother, 15 years ago, got hit by a car, got paralyzed. He’s been dealing with that,” he added.
Campbell’s death has left the family “all damaged up,” said another man who identified himself as a relative.
“It’s heartbreaking,” he said, adding he didn’t know if Campbell had wanted to be killed by cops.
Police have video showing two off-duty officers directing Campbell to drop the BB gun outside of the eatery, before one of them fired multiple rounds, according to sources and the NYPD.
A photo shared by the NYPD show the hyper-realistic BB gun, which had a piece of tape around its grip.
He was taken to Staten Island University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, sources said.
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