Pagan
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http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-nycop3012820171may29,0,895793.story
newsday.com
10:37 PM EDT, May 29, 2009
Police conduct an investigation on 125th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues after NYPD officials say an off-duty cop was mistaken for a criminal and fatally shot by a fellow officer. (Photo by Charles Eckert / May 29, 2009)
In the last minutes of his life, Omar Edwards lay handcuffed in the middle of Harlem's East 125th Street on Thursday, felled by bullets Officer Andrew Dunton fired after Edwards turned toward Dunton without lowering his gun, police said Friday.
Emergency Services officers cut open Edwards' white shirt. They found a Police Academy T-shirt and a shield and identification in his pants pocket.
"10-13!" an officer at the scene screamed into his radio. "Officer down! Officer down!"
Edwards, 25, a two-year rookie, was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center, where he died
Friday, the fallout from the tragedy unfolded, with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care calling for an independent prosecutor and the Rev. Al Sharpton blasting the latest tragedy involving a black officer shot by another officer, in this case a white man.
"Can police investigate themselves fairly and partially?" asked Sharpton, who called for a federal investigation. "It would seem very difficult at best and unlikely in fact."
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly visited Edwards' family in Brooklyn on Friday night, calling the shooting a "terrible tragedy."
"Commissioner Kelly, when does it stop?" Mikki Blue, 50, called to Kelly as he left.
On his weekly radio show Friday morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the investigation is early and part of the probe will be reviewing any security videotape and interviewing witnesses who the mayor said were present "from a distance and at night."
"The bottom line is Omar Edwards is gone," Bloomberg said. He later added, "Something went horribly wrong."
Police, meanwhile, would not address the actions of Edwards or Dunton, a four-year veteran who was stripped of his gun and placed on desk duty. Police also would not discuss race. The officer and sergeant with Dunton, who were also white, were allowed to keep their guns, though both also are on desk duty.
Sources said the NYPD urges off-duty officers not to chase a suspect unless the suspect is armed, but instead to call 911.
Dunton did not appear to be in a position to come up behind Edwards, police sources said. Police said Dunton identified himself as an officer and told Edwards to "drop the gun." Police said Edwards did not identify himself and turned toward Dunton with his gun drawn.
Police said Dunton took cover behind his unmarked car's passenger side door and fired six times. Edwards was struck in the left arm, the left side, where the bullet lodged in his abdomen, and the left back, where the bullet lodged in his chest.
Dunton fired from about 15 feet, Browne said, but it was not clear from what angle, and it is possible Edwards was struck in the back after the other bullets spun him around.
Sources said the investigation will focus on Dunton's tactics and how he and his partners approached Edwards. Dunton, 30, of Ridge, had never fired his gun on duty before, police said.
As misfortune would have it, Edwards' last shift patrolling housing projects in East Harlem ended early, just before 10:30 p.m. He had been given permission to leave because he was planning a trip with family.
Edwards approached his Nissan at Second Avenue and East 124th Street and saw Miguel Santiago, 43, who has served prison time on drug and grand larceny auto charges, rummaging through it, police said.
The two struggled, police said, and Santiago broke free, running north to East 125th Street. As the chase continued, Dunton and his partners, of the 25th Precinct's anti-crime team, jumped out of their car in plainclothes Santiago ran past them, followed by a man with a gun.
Dunton's partners grabbed Santiago after the shooting. He was charged with petty larceny, auto stripping and resisting arrest and was treated for withdrawal symptoms at a hospital.
"I don't know what to say about the police force," Edwards' father, Ricardo Edwards, said at his home Friday night. "They are here to help us, but they are destroying each other
http://www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-nycop3012820171may29,0,895793.story
newsday.com
10:37 PM EDT, May 29, 2009
Police conduct an investigation on 125th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues after NYPD officials say an off-duty cop was mistaken for a criminal and fatally shot by a fellow officer. (Photo by Charles Eckert / May 29, 2009)
In the last minutes of his life, Omar Edwards lay handcuffed in the middle of Harlem's East 125th Street on Thursday, felled by bullets Officer Andrew Dunton fired after Edwards turned toward Dunton without lowering his gun, police said Friday.
Emergency Services officers cut open Edwards' white shirt. They found a Police Academy T-shirt and a shield and identification in his pants pocket.
"10-13!" an officer at the scene screamed into his radio. "Officer down! Officer down!"
Edwards, 25, a two-year rookie, was rushed to Harlem Hospital Center, where he died
Friday, the fallout from the tragedy unfolded, with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care calling for an independent prosecutor and the Rev. Al Sharpton blasting the latest tragedy involving a black officer shot by another officer, in this case a white man.
"Can police investigate themselves fairly and partially?" asked Sharpton, who called for a federal investigation. "It would seem very difficult at best and unlikely in fact."
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly visited Edwards' family in Brooklyn on Friday night, calling the shooting a "terrible tragedy."
"Commissioner Kelly, when does it stop?" Mikki Blue, 50, called to Kelly as he left.
On his weekly radio show Friday morning, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the investigation is early and part of the probe will be reviewing any security videotape and interviewing witnesses who the mayor said were present "from a distance and at night."
"The bottom line is Omar Edwards is gone," Bloomberg said. He later added, "Something went horribly wrong."
Police, meanwhile, would not address the actions of Edwards or Dunton, a four-year veteran who was stripped of his gun and placed on desk duty. Police also would not discuss race. The officer and sergeant with Dunton, who were also white, were allowed to keep their guns, though both also are on desk duty.
Sources said the NYPD urges off-duty officers not to chase a suspect unless the suspect is armed, but instead to call 911.
Dunton did not appear to be in a position to come up behind Edwards, police sources said. Police said Dunton identified himself as an officer and told Edwards to "drop the gun." Police said Edwards did not identify himself and turned toward Dunton with his gun drawn.
Police said Dunton took cover behind his unmarked car's passenger side door and fired six times. Edwards was struck in the left arm, the left side, where the bullet lodged in his abdomen, and the left back, where the bullet lodged in his chest.
Dunton fired from about 15 feet, Browne said, but it was not clear from what angle, and it is possible Edwards was struck in the back after the other bullets spun him around.
Sources said the investigation will focus on Dunton's tactics and how he and his partners approached Edwards. Dunton, 30, of Ridge, had never fired his gun on duty before, police said.
As misfortune would have it, Edwards' last shift patrolling housing projects in East Harlem ended early, just before 10:30 p.m. He had been given permission to leave because he was planning a trip with family.
Edwards approached his Nissan at Second Avenue and East 124th Street and saw Miguel Santiago, 43, who has served prison time on drug and grand larceny auto charges, rummaging through it, police said.
The two struggled, police said, and Santiago broke free, running north to East 125th Street. As the chase continued, Dunton and his partners, of the 25th Precinct's anti-crime team, jumped out of their car in plainclothes Santiago ran past them, followed by a man with a gun.
Dunton's partners grabbed Santiago after the shooting. He was charged with petty larceny, auto stripping and resisting arrest and was treated for withdrawal symptoms at a hospital.
"I don't know what to say about the police force," Edwards' father, Ricardo Edwards, said at his home Friday night. "They are here to help us, but they are destroying each other
