The bystander, identified as Felix Kumi, died of two torso wounds on Saturday, police said. The gunman had attempted to rob the undercover officer just as he was about to buy a gun from a suspected illegal arms dealer in a vehicle as part of the Friday operation. The robber was reportedly hit three times as he was running away.
The number of hits, however, was a far cry from the total number of shots fired by the cop from NYPD’s Firearms Investigations Unit. According to witness reports and police statements cited by the New York Daily News, the officer fired at the fleeing robber anywhere between 11 and 21 shots.
As it turned out, the gunman, Alvin Smothers, 37, had threatened the cop with an “imitation pistol.” Smothers hopped into the back seat of his car, putting the fake gun to the officer’s head and demanding money as the undercover cop was waiting to make his weapons purchase. Smothers escaped the scene with the whole sum – reportedly $2,400 – intended for the gun dealer, but was later arrested. He is now in hospital with serious injuries.
The innocent victim’s family was in a state of shock following the shooting. Kumi was a deeply spiritual man who “touched everyone he met,” according to family members quoted by NY Daily News. The man, described as a devout Jehovah’s Witness, was walking along Beekman Ave to pick up his car from a repair shop when he was twice struck by police bullets.
The officer, who has not been named, is described as a 10-year veteran of the NYPD, and had reportedly bought 25 guns from the same gun dealer, 28-year-old Jeffrey Aristy, in 10 previous encounters. The extensive firearm shopping was explained as necessary to identify Aristy’s supplier, as part of a “long-terms firearms investigation.”
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13 comments:
Shot at a suspect while be was running away. In the back! Not only that....but the cop shot at the guy with innocent people around! Wow! I'm sorry but this is all wrong. Cop should go away for a long time!
NYPD needs to get rid of that 11 lb. trigger pull on those Glocks. No wonder they can't hit anything. That's just cray cray.
He should be in the hospital - a psychiatric hospital.
Who cares. The dude shot was in wrong neighborhood. I guess if you commit a crime and run you get a free pass right 9:25. Cop will not do a day in jail. The LAW protects he or she and rightfully so. You just keep sitting on the couch and read your liberal digest. Cop work is no place for sissies.
At the very least the cop needs more time on the shooting range! At least 11 shots and he only hit the suspect 3 times! Failing grade to me.
The guy with the fake gun is to blame and should be charged with manslaughter being his actions caused the death.
So the innocent bystander is just collateral damage? And shooting a person who is no longer a threat and running away is OK? No! It's called murder! The cop shit him out if anger not survival! Cop works no place for hot headed killers!
So the actions of a cop shooting at a man's back while running away didn't cause his death? Carelessly firing at a person who is no longer a threat and striking/killing an innocent person is the perps fault? Wow! You all should be ashamed. You sit back and applaud this? Police need to show restraint and judgment.
9:37 Bloomberg wants the cops to be armed with paintball guns.
Anon 9:37 AM - My Glock has a 5.5lb trigger, not 11 unless that is some special provision by NYPD.
The cop will probably face manslaughter charges and reckless endangerment since his actions were not intended to hit a bystander. What he should have done was to run after the guy while calling for backup. This is senseless, shooting the guy without a clear line of sight.
Just my 2 cents, I could be wrong.
he is good old boy. he will walk.
Actually, yeah, your out of the box Glock has the standard 5.5 lbs trigger, but they can be increased in weight by the department, which NYPD does, hence the term "New York trigger."
I figured as much Anon 6:59 PM. They must do that in order to cut down on the "itchy finger" syndrome.
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