A detective was shot while wearing a bullet-proof vest in Crown Heights on Sunday, after an 18-year-old allegedly fired his weapon as police officers sat in an unmarked car, according to New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Police officers assigned to a Mobile Field Force detail were parked in an unmarked police vehicle on the west side of Nostrand Avenue and St. Johns Place when an individual approached their car at around 4:14am, according to Tisch.
The officers exited their vehicle and attempted to engage the armed individual, who was captured on CCTV video five minutes prior and one block north with a firearm in his hand, she said.
Although there is no body-worn camera images of the incident, there were ballistic damage to the department vehicle that the officers were sitting in, including bullet holes in the front and rear windshields and the passenger side of the car. Three officers discharged their weapons and the subject was not struck, Tisch said.
During the gunfire, Detective Robert Carroll of the Sex Offender Monitoring Unit, was struck in the back of his ballistic vest. A second officer suffered a contusion to the face and the shoulder. The officers involved were there as part of our Fourth of July Violence Reduction Plan to address ongoing crew violence in the area, Tisch said.
After a foot pursuit, the subject was apprehended a few blocks away at Rogers Avenue and Union Street. During the apprehension, the subject resisted arrest and refused to be handcuffed. A taser was deployed, and the subject was taken into custody. A SAR 9mm firearm was recovered, according to Tisch.
Investigators are currently conducting an extensive camera canvas, Tisch said.
"Because many businesses were closed overnight, we expect to recover additional video in the coming hours," she said. "What happened this morning is another reminder that police officers never know what they will encounter when they begin a tour. Even what appears to be a routine patrol assignment can turn life-threatening in just an instant."
