The deranged Bronx man shot dead by cops while holding his own mother at knifepoint was dubbed “The Hulk” by kin because of his brute strength — and had three open criminal cases against him.
One of the pending cases against dead suspect Michael Dotel, 30, involved a drug warrant, which meant he was being sought by cops when he choked and put a knife to his mom’s neck in Bedford Park on Saturday before police opened fire, law-enforcement sources said.
Dotel had a history of mental illness and the three pending arrests against him when cops confronted him around 11:20 a.m. in his family’s 13th-floor apartment on Creston Avenue, police and relatives said.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell told reporters that Dotel ignored “numerous” demands by cops to drop the knife while holding a knife to his 45-year-old mother’s throat and choking her so hard that she collapsed.
“Either kill me or kill her!” Dotel screamed at the officers, the victim’s husband told The Post.
He was about to cut his mother’s throat when police fired and struck him in the head, the husband said.
“I was standing next to the officer. The officer told him three times to [put] the knife down, let her go,” said the man, who asked not to be identified. “If [the officer] wouldn’t have done that, my wife would be dead. [Dotel] was using her as a body shield.”
Dotel was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
His mom’s husband said Dotel had a history of mental illness and drug use. Records show he has at least two cases pending in the Bronx — an assault case involving a child and a gun, resisting arrest and menacing bust, both separate incidents dating to August.
Sources said Dotel was also sought on a warrant for third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance at the time of his encounter with cops.
Relatives said he was nicknamed “The Hulk” for his massive build and strength.
The Bronx District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for information Sunday on the open cases against Dotel.
Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts