A culture that pampers – and encourages – criminals led to the Christmas Eve shooting of an NYPD officer in Brooklyn, according to the head of the city’s largest police union.
The 27-year-old officer was likely rescued by his bulletproof vest after being shot in the back when he responded to a domestic dispute in Crown Heights just after 9 p.m. Thursday, police said.
Flanked by Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city officials at Kings County Hospital, Chairman of the Police Benevolent Association Pat Lynch said afterwards that the suspect was not afraid to shoot New York’s Finest.
‘Why does an offender feel so brave to shoot a police officer? That is the question we must ask and answer. There are a number of reasons why this is happening. Lack of street support, police defunding, bail reform, lack of prosecution. That’s why this is happening, ”said Lynch.
The suspect, identified as William Moss, shot the officer after his girlfriend’s mother called the police to warn them he was threatening to come over and open fire, police sources said.
The officers were talking to the younger woman when Moss arrived, shot the officer and fled, the sources said.
Police chased Moss to nearby Prospect Place, where they fired several shots at him and took him into custody.
‘When a perpetrator isn’t afraid to bring out a weapon to shoot with a gun. Sometimes they are not the worst offenders in the world. But they still do. We have to stop saying we’re lucky. We have to stop counting our equipment. There must be fear in the perpetrators’ hearts that they know that if they shoot at a police officer, they will not walk on the street, ”said Lynch.
The injured officer is treated in hospital.
“A man threatened his girlfriend and because the NYPD was there, that woman is now alive,” de Blasio said at the hospital.
“Thank goodness our officer is going to be fine … As you saw today, the NYPD saved someone’s life,” the mayor said.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea held up the officer’s protective vest during the press conference to reveal where the bullet had landed.
A witness said he heard several gunshots while working at a restaurant on Ralph Avenue.
“We just heard the gun. Like six, seven shots, ”said the man, Paul, not mentioning his last name.
Police say they don’t know what motivated Moss to open fire.