Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins says after reviewing body camera footage, he believes there was an “appropriate use of force” during an early Monday morning officer-involved shooting on New Scotland Avenue.

Police had been responding to a 911 call reporting a home invasion on the 100 block of Morris Street shortly before 1 a.m. The caller told dispatchers a group was inside their home and was armed.

Responding officers say a person associated with the incident had climbed to the roof and began running across neighboring rooftops.

A pair of officers patrolling the area came upon a man and a large dog on New Scotland Avenue. In an attempt to investigate, the officers stopped him and discovered he had a knife.

Despite several attempts to deescalate the situation, the man released the dog and made several advancements towards officers. One officer shot the 32-year-old several times in the torso. He was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition.

“My initial assessment is that this was an appropriate use of force,” Hawkins said Monday. “From what I saw on the camera, those officers, at least that officer who fired his weapon, was under attack. This was an armed subject who was aggressively sprinting toward this officer and this use of force was unavoidable.”

Hawkins said he believed the dog was uninjured in the incident.

The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending an ongoing investigation, and per department policy.

The APD says it is also working with the Albany County District Attorney’s office and the state attorney general’s office.