Cops kill N. Phila. man wielding knife

A 53-year-old North Philadelphia man was shot and killed by police yesterday afternoon after he lunged at cops with a meat cleaver and a knife, police said.

Just before 1 p.m., police responded to a call for a disturbance in a house on West Harold Street near 13th, where a woman told police that her friend had become unruly and grabbed a knife from inside the house, police said.

It was unclear what provoked the man, but the woman ran out of the house and called police, who tried to reason with him, cops said. "The officers went into the house and attempted to talk to him and he just wasn't listening," said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman. "He was walking up and down the steps with the knife."

As officers continued to negotiate with the man, he allegedly charged at one of the officers, who tried to use his Taser to subdue him, Vanore said. The shock failed and the man charged again, leading one officer to shoot him in the chest and the arm, Vanore said. The suspect died at Temple University Hospital. The officer will be placed on desk duty pending the outcome of an investigation, Vanore said.