According to the head of the city’s largest police union, a culture that annoys and encourages criminals led to the shooting on Christmas night of a NYPD officer in Brooklyn.
The 27-year-old police officer was probably rescued by his bulletproof vest after being shot in the back while responding to a domestic dispute just after 9pm in Crown Heights, police said.
Flanked by Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials at Kings County Hospital, President of the Police Charity Association Said Pat Lynch then the suspect was not afraid to shoot Finest of New York.
“Why is a perp bold enough to shoot at a police officer? This is the question we need to ask and answer. There are several reasons why this happens. Lack of street support, police collapse, bail reform, lack of prosecution. That’s why this is happening, “said Lynch.
According to police sources, the suspect, identified as William Moss, shot the officer after his girlfriend’s mother called police to alert them that he was threatening to come and open fire.
Officers were talking to the younger woman when Moss arrived, shot police and fled, according to sources.
Police chased Moss to nearby Prospect Place, where he was shot several times and arrested.
“When a perp is not afraid to draw a gun to shoot a gun. Sometimes they are not the worst perps in the world. But they are still doing it. We must stop saying we are lucky. We need to stop counting our equipment. There must be fear in the hearts of the perps who know that if they shoot at a police officer, they will not walk the streets, ”Lynch said.
The injured officer is being treated at the hospital.
“A man threatened his girlfriend and because the NYPD was there, that woman is alive right now,” de Blasio said at the hospital.
“Our officer, thank God, will be fine … As you saw today, the NYPD saved someone’s life,” the mayor said.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea lifted the officer’s protective vest at the press conference to show where the bullet had been housed.
A witness said he heard several shots while working at a restaurant on Ralph Avenue.
“It simply came to our notice then. Like six, seven shots, ”said the man, Paul, who didn’t give his last name.
Police say they do not know what motivated Moss to open fire.