PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — In the midday quiet of the Spanish Lakes Golf Village on Monday, Kent Taylor shared his pain with me.
“I lost my son after a police response," he told me.
On Friday, Taylor’s 35-year-old son, Alexander, was shot and killed by officers responding to a domestic violence incident.
WATCH: Kent Taylor tells WPTV his son's death 'was a tragedy'
“That calls into question, the policies, procedures and training of the Port St. Lucie Police Department,” he said.
Port St. Lucie police Monday sharing this photo of the butcher's knife they said Alexander Taylor was holding at the time of the shooting.
They also shared a 30-second body camera video clip of the moments leading up to the shooting where two officers arrive on scene and you can see the younger Taylor charging toward officers with a knife. We paused the video - the moment police fired several shots.
At the scene Friday, Chief Leo Niemczyk said Alexander Taylor made threats of "suicide by cop."
"There were statements about a suicide by cop potential as the officers were arriving," Niemczyk said during an evening news conference. "They exited their vehicles. As they walked around the corner, they were confronted with an adult male charging them with a knife."
WATCH: Police shoot man in Port St. Lucie after he 'charged them' with knife, chief says
"This was a tragedy that could and should have been avoided," said Kent Taylor.
Port St. Lucie police have made big investments recently in body cameras and less than lethal force alternatives.
We reported last year as Port St. Lucie officers were being trained to use tasers, part of a million-dollar upgrade in police technology.
We asked the police chief for an interview Monday, but he was unavailable to go on camera. He did tell me that he stands behind his comments from the scene Friday where he said “these officers didn’t have time to plan anything less than lethal whatsoever.”
WATCH: Port St. Lucie Police Department to spend $1 million annually on Tasers, body cams
Additionally, the chief said he believes the shooting was justified and his heart goes out to all involved, including the surviving family.
The hurt is still raw for Kent Taylor.
“I’m balancing my grief with my anger over what happened. My son deserved better. The families in the community deserve better than this," he said. "I am going to hold whoever we can accountable before this is completed."
