Cop killed by LEO

[itnstalln]

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A police officer was shot to death by another officer as he was chasing a man he saw breaking into his car in New York's East Harlem neighborhood, authorities said.

Officer Omar Edwards, 25, was shot twice about 10:30 p.m. just blocks from the precinct where he had finished his shift. He was pronounced dead less than an hour later at Harlem Hospital.

Edwards, in plainclothes, had just left the Housing Bureau Station House on East 124th St., said Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. As Edwards approached his car, he saw a man rummaging through it.

"We believe that at this point, Officer Edwards, with his gun drawn, chased the individual north to 125th Street and east toward First Avenue," Kelly said at a news conference early Friday at Harlem Hospital.

Edwards was not wearing a bulletproof vest and did not fire a shot, Kelly said.

Plainclothes officers patrolling the neighborhood in an unmarked vehicle saw the chase and went after Edwards and the suspect.

"One of the officers, after exiting the vehicle, fired six times from a 9 mm Glock," Kelly said.

Edwards was shot in the chest and arm. It was not clear whether any of the officers had identified themselves as law enforcement.

The officer who fired the shots has four-and-a-half years' experience, authorities said. The shooting is under investigation, Kelly said.

A man was later arrested on suspicion of breaking into Edwards' car.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/29/ny.officer.killed/index.html

[SgtCHP]

Oh, man, that sucks! I am willing to wager that there is one NYPD officer who is in serious denial about now. Prayers out to the family of the deceased officer and those of the shooter. How utterly tragic.

[ZachE84]

Such a sad, tragic event. I hope the burglar gets charged for manslaughter.

[apo2be]

R.I.P. Officer Edwards
My Thoughts and prayers are with your family.

[cjmajor1807]

My thoughts and prayers are with both Officer Edwards and the officer who was doing his job. This is tragic...R.I.P.

[Sled]

R.I.P.


The incident is barley 12 hours old, and the NY media is beginning to turn it into a circus, see the NY Daily News headline;
"Black Cop Killed by White Officer".
This is just the beginning.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/28/2009-05-28_black_cop_killed_by_white_officer.html

For those of you who are familiar with NY media and the local community activist, you will be familiar with what appears to be happening, the full story is not out, yet the racial angle is being played up.

At least wait till the facts come out before the accusations start.

[exdrip]

that just sinks me...RIP Officer Edwards. And I hope the other officer keeps himself alive through all this.

"Black Cop Killed by White Officer" is ****ing sickening

[Mackenzie]

The NY Daily news is disgusting. After their headline, they now have a poll "A Black Cops Fear" asking users if it surprises them that a white cop mistook a black officer for a perp and shot him. I cant even imagine the pain the families of all affected are going through and as usual the NY media makes it into a circus.

RIP to Officer Edwards and I hope the anti crime officers get the support they need in this incredibly difficult time.

[XNavyGunner]

I wish all the best for the officer's family and friends. I'm still in the police academy so I'm confused about the incident. The on-duty officer discharged six rounds into the off-duty officer whom was chasing the assailant with his firearm is the on-duty officer justified in shooting him? from what I've learned from the academy was deadly force has to meet the criteria of A-O-J; Ability, opportunity and jeopardy. And of course deadly force has to be reasonable and justifiable. In this case, the armed off-duty officer did posses a firearm but did not pose a direct threat to the on-duty officers nor does the article clarify if the on-duty officers identified themselves as law enforcement. Any thoughts?

[nogginbuster24]

I wonder what's worse, being killed by the suspect behind your back, or being killed by one of your own who's in denial.

[E3CSHARP]

Thats the worst, shot by your own..... now you have to think twice about pursuing a subject in plain clothes. Lets be honest though, a black man in plain clothes with a gun running. Like others have said, being in denial is something.

[kknudsen]

This sucks for all involved. R.I.P brother. I can't even begin to imagine what the officer that fired is going through. The NY media will almost certainly make it worse. My deepest sympathy goes out for all involved.

The sad truth is that this seems to happen about once a year somewhere in the country. NY has had several in the past few years.

Taking action while off duty is probably one of the most dangerous things that any of us can do. The only way to handle any action taken off duty is to expect that any responding officers will not know you and will not recognize that you are law enforcement. Any other assumptions can prove deadly. Everyone on the job or trying to get on needs to remember that if you are taking action while off duty in plain clothes from the responding officers perspective you are an armed suspect until proved otherwise.

[cjmajor1807]

I wish all the best for the officer's family and friends. I'm still in the police academy so I'm confused about the incident. The on-duty officer discharged six rounds into the off-duty officer whom was chasing the assailant with his firearm is the on-duty officer justified in shooting him? from what I've learned from the academy was deadly force has to meet the criteria of A-O-J; Ability, opportunity and jeopardy. And of course deadly force has to be reasonable and justifiable. In this case, the armed off-duty officer did posses a firearm but did not pose a direct threat to the on-duty officers nor does the article clarify if the on-duty officers identified themselves as law enforcement. Any thoughts?

What about the danger to the guy that the on-duty officer was chasing, how is the on-duty officer supposed to know that the off-duty officer was law enforcement. Sounds like it is justified to me, officer saw a guy with gun, chasing another guy (sounds like the guy had ability to shoot if he wanted, opportunity to shoot the guy he was chasing, and the guy he was chasing, his life was in jeopardy) sounds reasonable and justifiable to me.

Saying it was a White v. Black thing is just crazy!

[Spoken]

Thats the worst, shot by your own..... now you have to think twice about pursuing a subject in plain clothes. Lets be honest though, a black man in plain clothes with a gun running. Like others have said, being in denial is something.

It would have been the same response as a white guy in plain clothes running with a gun

[LA DEP]

This is something that the non-LEO readers/posters need to consider on incidents like this:

Although the off duty officer knows HE is the good guy, the on duty officers have no way of knowing that.....all they see is a male running with a firearm; in this incident, it sounds like what they saw was a male with a firearm chasing someone else.

When they confront this off duty guy, if he doesnt instantly comply with orders to drop the weapon, or worse start to turn towards the responding officers (maybe even to start to say, 'hey, I'm off duty and chasing this fool that broke into my car) they are going to shoot him on the spot.

They have no way of knowing whether he is a good guy, bad guy, or indifferent.....all they know is that he is an armed threat.

I have worked plainclothes on several occasions....I have had a gun pointed at me by another deputy (a trainee from the same station) before.....it is a situation that can go sideways in an instant. Unfortunately in the incident in NY, it did.

The guy that fired the shots will not only have to live with the fact that he took anothers' life, but that he killed a fellow LEO.