An NYPD lieutenant is lucky to be alive after being shot during a struggle with an armed perpetrator in the Bronx on Friday night, police reported.
The lieutenant assigned to the 42nd Precinct was treated and released at Jacobi Hospital for a bullet wound to his ankle, according to Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, who said the ranking officer would make a full recovery.
Shea said the lieutenant and three officers involved in the struggle were able to take the gunman into custody without further incident. The suspect has a prior arrest record and is known to the department as a gang member.
The commissioner outlined the preliminary details of the shooting during a press conference early Saturday morning outside Jacobi Hospital.
According to Shea, the trouble began at about 11:55 p.m. on July 30, when the lieutenant and three other 42nd Precinct officers were on patrol in an unmarked car in front of 1364 Lyman Place in Charlotte Gardens.
The commissioner said they were on a detail specifically to combat gun violence in the area.
During their patrol, Shea reported, the officers spotted the suspect acting suspicious, and they got out of their unmarked vehicle to investigate.
“Immediately upon exiting the car, the male takes off running,” the commissioner said. “After approximately 50 feet, and that’s my quick view [from the] body camera [footage], they apprehend the male and a violent struggle ensues.”
The lieutenant and three officers wrestled with the gunman for between five and eight minutes, Shea said. He commended the officers for showing “incredible restraint” as they repeatedly ordered the man to drop the weapon while attempting to arrest him.
During the struggle, Shea said, the perpetrator allegedly fired one shot which went through the lieutenant’s ankle and landed in a nearby parked car. Even so, the officers were finally able to subdue the suspect and take him into custody without further incident.
It could have been much worse, Shea noted.
Upon recovering the weapon, a 9 mm Smith and Wesson revolver, police found that it was loaded with 12 live rounds. Fortunately for the officers, Shea said, one shell casing had “stove-piped” in the chamber, rendering the weapon incapable of firing any additional bullets.
Police have withheld the suspect’s name at this time due to the ongoing investigation, the commissioner noted. He’s known to the department as a street gang member and had been arrested on a weapons possession charge eight months ago.
The three other officers involved in the struggle were treated at Jacobi Hospital for minor bruises, Shea added.
Shea indicated that the NYPD would soon release bodycam footage of the incident.
Watch as @NYPDShea provides an update to the NYPD Lieutenant that was shot last night. https://t.co/SZ5bDWy7EZ
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) July 31, 2021
