A man was shot by an off-duty NYPD police officer amid a dispute in a store in the Wakefield section of The Bronx on Nov. 30 as New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed seniors at an event a short distance away.

 

NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley, commanding officer of Patrol Borough Bronx, provided details of the incident during a press conference held on Thursday evening in Wakefield, prefacing his remarks by saying the information being shared was preliminary as the investigation was ongoing.

 

“Earlier this afternoon, at approximately 3.05 p.m., a 42-year-old male walked into a store located at 4062 White Plains Road where he engaged in a dispute with an off duty NYPD police officer that was also in the store,” Gurley said.

 

Gurley continued, “During the dispute, the off duty police officer discharged his weapon one time, striking the male once in the left arm, and subsequently grazing the male’s chest.”

The assistant chief said the victim was removed to Jacobi hospital, where he said he was being treated for his injuries. “He’s not likely to die from the injuries he had received,” Gurley said. “Our force investigation division is leading the investigation. At this point, there remains many investigative steps to take like video canvas and additional interviews. Further information will be made available as the investigation unfolds by the Office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information for the police department. That’s it. Good Night.”

There was no opportunity for questions.

 

Earlier that day, one mile away in the Edenwald section of The Bronx, the mayor had been due to arrive at 2 p.m. at an older adult town hall at JASA Bay Eden Older Adult Center, located at 1220 East 229th Street, but only arrived at the event in the end at around 3 p.m. which was more or less the time the shooting took place.

The same day the mayor had made a street safety announcement at City Hall, saying, in part, “Our streets must be safe places for all New Yorkers — pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike. Today, we’re proud [to] announce that we’re doubling our current pace of intersection safety improvements.”

 

Meanwhile, according to the NYPD, protecting human life, including the lives of individuals being placed into police custody, is the primary duty of every member of the service. NYPD “departmental policy emphasizes the value of human life, the use reasonable force, and the utilization [of] less lethal alternatives,” according to the NYPD’s latest available Use of Force report.

 

According to the report, NYPD policy prioritizes, whenever possible, the employment of deescalation techniques to safely gain voluntary compliance from a subject to reduce or eliminate the necessity to use force. Furthermore, according to the report, members of the service remain responsible and accountable for the proper use of force, the application of which must be consistent with existing law and with departmental policy, the latter of which is more restrictive and holds its members to a higher level of restraint than both federal and New York State law.

As an example, according to the report, State law allows the use of deadly physical force in the protection of property, a use of force that is strictly prohibited under NYPD department policy. Additionally, according to the report, the utilization of deadly physical force against a person, as outlined in Patrol Guide 221-01, is permitted to “protect members of the service and/or the public from imminent serious physical injury or death.”

 

A further story on the seniors event in Edenwald will follow.

 

According to Loopnet.com, 4062-4072 White Plains Road is retail property for sale.