Bronx Shooting: Officer Kills Man in 2nd Deadly Police Encounter in 3 Days

Ed Shanahan and Edgar Sandoval

October 18, 2019 3:07 AM

NEW YORK — A police sergeant fatally shot a man during a traffic stop in the Bronx on Thursday, officials said, the second deadly shooting by the New York police this week and the third time in three days that an officer fired at a suspect.

Bronx Shooting: Officer Kills Man in 2nd Deadly Police Encounter in 3 Days

The shooting happened about 3 p.m. near Woodlawn Cemetery after the sergeant and two officers in a marked car pulled over an SUV because the driver was not wearing a seat belt, the police said.

The officers determined that the driver, whose name was not released, had three outstanding warrants for failing to pay fines for violations, including one for littering, the police said.

The officers told the driver they were arresting him as a result of the warrants, and he got out of the SUV, the police said.

Once out of the vehicle, though, the driver began to physically resist and then got back behind the wheel, officials said. The officers were on the driver’s side of the car, and the sergeant was on the passenger’s side, the police said.

With both of the SUV’s front doors open, the driver “initiated a violent struggle,” Terence A. Monahan, the chief of department, said at a news conference near the site of the shooting.

At that point, Monahan said, the sergeant fired a stun gun at the driver, but the confrontation continued. As it did, the driver shifted into drive and then reverse “with the sergeant inside the vehicle at all times,” Monahan said.

“When the car was put into reverse, the officer on the driver’s side had to release his grip” on the driver “and jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the car,” Monahan said. The police had initially said one of the officers was dragged by the car.

When the car continued to move, the sergeant shot the driver once in the chest, killing him, the police said. The struggle lasted about a minute and a half, Monahan said.

A bystander’s video posted online by News 12 Bronx captures a sequence of events roughly in line with Monahan’s description. Two officers — a man and woman — are seen on the driver’s side of a silver SUV, tussling with the driver. The car moves forward and then reverses.

The male officer jumps out of the way to avoid being hit by the open door, which slams shut. Then a shot rings out. Seconds later the male officer hauls a bleeding man from the driver’s seat onto the pavement and handcuffs him behind his back and then begins lifesaving measures.

The officers, sergeant and a passenger in the car were not hurt, the police said. A large quantity of drugs, including cocaine, heroin and ecstasy, were found in the SUV, the police said.

On Tuesday, anti-crime officers in Brooklyn fatally shot a man after encountering him firing at a second man. Several hours later, officers in the Bronx shot an armed man at the 225th Street subway station, hitting him once in the arm.

Last month, officers in the Bronx fatally shot another man in an episode that also involved the deadly “friendly fire” death of one of their colleagues, Officer Brian Mulkeen.

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Ed Shanahan and Edgar Sandoval