About 200 officers cheered as Officer William Reddin was wheeled out of Kings County Hospital Tuesday, just three days after he and his partner were shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
As bagpipes sounded, Reddin shook the hands of several brothers and sisters in blue, waved and repped his No. 74 Nick Mangold Jets jersey.
Surrounded by his mother, Madelyn, his wife, Vanessa, and his two young sons, Devin and Nathan, Reddin gingerly stood up and perched himself on crutches before getting into an SUV. His partner, Andrew Yurkiw — who was also shot in his protective vest during Saturday’s exchange of gunfire and released that same night — followed Reddin in.
“He (knew) Saturday morning when he was going up against that armed gunman that he had the support of all the NYPD,” said Assistant Chief Jeff Maddrey, borough commander of Brooklyn North. “He’s a hero, he’s a great cop. He’s my hero.”
Maddrey said Reddin, 33, a nine-year veteran of the department, and Yurkiw, 29, an officer for three years, help keep Bedford- Stuyvesant safe “through their diligence and hard work and their willingness to put themselves on the line. They’re not thinking of themselves, they’re worried about the community. And that’s what they do day-in and day-out.”
“It’s been my absolute honor and privilege to work alongside an officer of this caliber,” said Reddin’s sergeant, Michael Miller. “It really has been a humbling experience working with him.
“He’s one of the top gun guys in the city,” Miller added.
“It’s a proud day for the police department and the 81st Precinct that Police Officer Reddin is walking out the door of Kings County Hospital,” said Deputy Inspector Scott Henderson, commanding officer of the 81st Precinct.
“I’m looking forward to getting him back to work, serving the community of Bed-Stuy. He’s hands down the best cop in the 81st Precinct in Bed-Stuy.”
The officers, both working plainclothes and assigned to anti-crime, were injured during an early morning shootout with Jamal Funes, 34, of Egg Harbor, New Jersey, as he sat in his car in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Funes, who was shot several times during the exchange, was charged with a number of offenses, including first-degree attempted murder, assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
A .357-caliber revolver was found in the front seat of the car, with five spent shell casings, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said during a news conference on Saturday.
Reddin was struck in the right hip, and Yurkiw was struck in the chest, over his protective vest.
Ballistics tests Sunday showed Yurkiw was hit by a bullet from Funes’ gun, according to NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis.
On Tuesday, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said he expects to be able to determine whether the bullet fragments in Reddin’s hip, which were left inside him, were from Funes’ gun or a ricochet from a fellow officer’s gun.
“I anticipate by the end of the week we may have some additional clarification, not only of the officers involved, but what happened at that scene,” Bratton said, speaking at an unrelated news conference at police headquarters.
Bratton said the analysis being done may impact the charges brought against Funes.
Funes was taken to Brookdale Hospital following the shooting. It was not immediately clear when he would be arraigned. Attorney information for him was not available.
