Police Shoot Harlem Teen

Tensions are on edge in Harlem, after police fatally shot an 18 year old yesterday morning. While the police say Mingo Kenneth Mason was armed and ran when they approached him, residents in the housing project police chased Mason say that the police "regularly harrass" tenants and "needlessly hand out trespassing tickets" as Newsday reports. What is known is that a resident called the police to complain about a man showing a gun to three others at the East River Houses. From Newsday:

Two police officers assigned to the East Houses area responded to the scene moments later, police said. When they approached, the group began to disperse, with Mason pushing his way past the officers, knocking one of them to the ground, police said.

Those officers then used a police radio to report that a man with a gun had run away. A bevy of officers from the 23rd Precinct responded. They caught up with Mason at a basketball court near 431 E. 102nd St., three blocks from where the chase began, police said.

A 13-year veteran of the department, who is assigned to the precinct but was not identified, fired once at Mason. Police did not reveal why the officer fired, or how far apart he and Mason were.

Police said they found a loaded .25-caliber semiautomatic handgun next to Mason's body. He was rushed to Metropolitan Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead at 1:47 a.m., police said.

A neighbor who witnessed the chase on the dark streets told the NY Times that Mason was not holding a gun and that the cop "had no reason to shoot." Another witness told the Post, "He stopped and put his hands up. After that they shot him. I didn't see a gun. Kenny's not a gun kid. He's not a thug. You could talk him down."

Mason's mother said that though he had been in juvenile reform camp for a robbery, he had his GED and was hoping to be a security guard.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in News on September 17, 2006 10:42 AM

Comments [rss]

jack oneil

Well...you'd think his momma would tell him not to do crime and he would not have to run away from the cops. Chances are he did have a gun because its not like its hard to get one.

Maybe they should just wall up the place and let them police their own (meaning poor people, not black people so keep the racist comments out of this). Seriously, where I live there are over 400 apts and about 1000 people. We all pay rent living in shoe boxes and yet we don't go crazy, spray paint the halls or rob each other.

oops, off topic, sorry.

space 1999

that's true, being shot by law enforcement, 3,949

Terrorism, 3,147.

That said, do you think the backlash from the AA parade in Harlem was because of this gentleman's death by cop?

If you don't know, it's still developing and should be some info in the am.

j

youre more likely to die from police shooting you than terrorism in the US. fact.

hmm

I really hope that comment above is from the real Frank Serpico.

F. Serpico

.25 cal? Where does one even get those cartridges?

Within the five boroughs but most importantly, WHY?

When a Kel Tec 9mm is not only better but with some work, quite reliable.

What's that term for a "throwaway" gun cop's use to plant on victims? You hear about those "guns" a lot during the old days.

In the movie "CopLand" they had a guy do that, only it was the ubiquitous Tec Nine looking piece.

interlard

I find it amazing that running away from a cop is a crime punishable by the instant death penalty doled out by a policeman.

If these pricks didn't harass people all over the city, only the criminals would run away (and they could shoot them as much as they want). As it is, some cops are as bad as the criminals, so what's a person to do?