Police say officers shot and critically wounded a man who pointed a pellet gun at them.
It happened in the East New York neighborhood just before 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Police say three uniformed officers were in an unmarked vehicle when they saw a Toyota Camry with no headlights on driving erratically. Police say they activated their sirens and emergency lights to pull over the vehicle, which initially refused to stop.
When the car finally stopped, police say the suspect got out holding what appeared to be a gun.
Police say he walked toward the officer’s vehicle and pointed the gun at them. Two of the officers fired their firearms, striking the suspect three times. Police later determined the weapon to be a pellet gun.
THE FOLLOWING IS TRANSCRIBED FROM A STATEMENT DELIVERED BY THE NYPD:
The following information that I’m about to provide is preliminary at this time. My name is Chief Rodney Harrison, Chief of Patrol, and with me are Assistant Chief Jeff Maddrey, Commanding Officer, Patrol Borough Brooklyn North, Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney, Commanding Officer, Force Investigation Division and Inspector John Chell, Commanding Officer, 75th Precinct.
This evening at approximately 6:20 p.m., three uniformed officers assigned to the 75th Precinct were driving in an unmarked vehicle. The officers observed a Toyota Camry, driving in an erratic manner (veering in and out of traffic), with no head lights on, in the area of New Lots and Pennsylvania Avenues. The officers, a sergeant and two police officers, attempted to stop the vehicle by activating their emergency lights and sirens. The Camry initially refused to stop for the officers, until it came to an abrupt stop in front of 613 Van Siclen Avenue. As the officers pulled up behind the vehicle, the perpetrator exited his vehicle with a gun in his hand. The perpetrator then walked toward the officers and pointed the gun at them. Two of the three officers discharged their firearms, striking the male three times.
The perpetrator was transported to Brookdale Hospital and is currently in critical condition. The perpetrator’s gun was recovered at the scene. Upon further investigation it was determined to be a pellet gun. The officers involved were transported to an area Hospital for observation.
This firearm was recovered at the scene of tonight’s shooting within the confines of the @NYPD75Pct in Brooklyn.
This information is preliminary, the investigation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/X2dM541LIH
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) January 31, 2019
(AP)
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4 Responses
Al Sharp-tongue is salivating over this.
No description of the perp but judging by the location of the incident I’m assuming it’s a chassidim yungerman with a long beard.
Hopefully the Clown News Network and pmsnbc don’t turn this into another “hands up, don’t shoot” Furgeson fake news story.
The headline with Capitalized “PELLET GUN” makes it sound like the officers did something wrong. Assuming that the story was exactly as they describe it, I think the officers were probably justified.
How about “Officers shoot suspect who ignored their warning and then approached them holding a dangerous-looking object, which he then pointed at them in a purposefully threatening manner. Quick and responsibly acting officers, acting in accordance with proper procedure, fired their weapons at and disarmed the perpetrator. Further investigation after the fact revealed that the suspect was brandishing a fake weapon. Ruled by the judge as an attempted ‘suicide by police’.”
The same could have happened if the alleged perpetrator had:
a) a real gun that was not loaded
b) a real gun that just happened to be jammed or inoperative
c) a real gun that still had the safety lock engaged
There is a good reason why it is illegal (in NY, and probably elsewhere as well,) to make or sell toy weapons that look real. They pose a very real danger to the ‘children’ that carry them, since the police have no way of knowing if they are real or not when they are being pointed at them in a potentially life-threatening situation.