US Cops Shoot Dead Man 'Armed With Knife & Bible'

Police in America have shot dead a man amid claims he charged at them with a knife and a copy of the Bible.

Video footage released by St Louis County Police shows the officers negotiating with black man, Thaddeus McCarroll, 23, before resorting to deadly force.

According to reports, a Tactical Operations Unit responded to a call from the mother of a man who had locked himself inside their house in Jennings, Missouri.

The scene is located just a few miles from Ferguson, where last summer the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown lead to civil unrest in the town.

In the case of McCarroll, officers claim they were forced to respond with deadly force after trying to negotiate with the armed man for nearly half an hour.

They said they opened fire after attempting to disarm him and diffuse the situation.

A spokesman said: "The officers resorted to less lethal force to try and bring the incident to a safe conclusion with no loss of life, but this individual made the decision to refuse these attempts and charge at officers with a deadly weapon."

Police released a video of the incident, in which officers can be heard attempting to pacify McCarroll and convince him to give up his weapon.

However, McCarroll can not be seen or heard in the grainy footage.

"Do me a favor and just drop the knife and walk over here to tell me what's going on," says one officer.

"We are not here to harm you."

The latest shooting comes amidst intense scrutiny over US policing tactics following a series of controversial shootings, mainly involving African American men.

More recently, shocking footage emerged showing a white police officer shooting unarmed man Walter Scott dead as he fled.

The officer has since been charged with murder.