March 15, 2007
Village Shooting: 4 Dead, Including 2 Auxiliary Cops
Last night, a man carrying two handguns and over 100 rounds of ammunition shot and killed a pizzeria employee in Greenwich Village and fatally shot two unarmed auxiliary police officers, before responding police officers shot him on Bleecker Street. The slain counterman at DeMarco's Pizza is being described as Romero Morales or Alfredo Romaro (we will refer to him as Romaro). The auxiliary police officers were identified as 19-year-old Eugene Marshalik, a NYU student, and Nicholas Pekearo, 28. And the shooter was David Garvin, 50 (also described as being 32 year old). Mayor Bloomberg said, "It's a horrible night for the New York Police Department and the city."
Police say Garvin, while wearing a fake beard, entered DeMarco's at 146 West Houston. Romaro gave him a menu (Newsday reports witnesses say Romaro seemed nervous) and when he turned his back, Garvin shot him 15 times. Garvin then fled, leaving a bag with 100 rounds of ammo and a gun. He headed up MacDougal, towards Bleecker.
Marshalik and Pekearo, both wearing uniforms like regular police officers but are unarmed, followed up on Sullivan Street. Outside The Lion's Den bar, Garvin reportedly crossed the street and shot them. Garvin ran to Bleecker, but responding police officers then cornered him on Bleecker between Sullivan and MacDougal. One officer had initially tackled him, but Garvin managed to "throw him off." Either outside or just within the Village Tannery, Garvin shot at the police, shattering a window. The police yelled for Garvin to drop his gun, but opened fire when he refused.
It's unclear why Garvin shot Morales.
Witnesses were shocked and scared during the gunfire and ensuing violence. One woman told the NY Times, “There was [gun]fire coming from everywhere. There was a cop who was shooting and then took cover behind a pole.” A witness told the Daily News, "[The gunman] was on the ground, facedown... He was full of bullet holes and blood was coming out" And some people also offered opinions of DeMarco's clientele; a woman told the Post, "They are not the normal neighborhood people. They're smoking and throwing their [cigarette] butts all over the place."
Mayor Bloomberg also said, "What this indicates is that this tragedy, as horrific as it was, could have been a lot worse and without the actions of our brave officers most likely would have been."
The last time an auxiliary police officer was killed was in 1993, when 47-year-old Milton Clarke was killed in the Bronx. There are over 4,000 auxiliary police officers, who are all unpaid volunteers. Here's how the NYPD explains the auxiliary police - they are volunteers:
Who are the Auxiliary Police?One requirement, besides being in good health or an American citizen is "to be of good character." Marshalik was a recent Stuyvesant High School graduate.
They are civic-minded, individuals who volunteer to assist their local Police Precincts, Housing Police Service Area, and Transit Borough Queens, by performing uniformed patrol in their communities. They are recruited, trained and equipped by the Police Department. They come from many diverse backgrounds and a myriad of occupations throughout the City, such as computer programmers, mechanics, merchants, nurses, security guards, school teachers, students, etc.What are their functions?
Auxiliary Police provide extra "eyes and ears" for the Police Department by performing uniformed foot, vehicle and bicycle patrols. They are trained to observe and report conditions requiring the services of the regular police. Whenever possible, they assist in non-enforcement and non-hazardous duties. The following are some areas in which the Auxiliary Police assist the Police Department: Residential and commercial areas; Community festivals, parades, concerts, street fairs, park patrols; Subway entrances and token booth areas; Perimeter of Houses of Worship; Crime prevention activities; Traffic control.
And last night's updates as the new broke are below, after the jump.
Top photograph by Charles Edouard Jottras/AP; middle and bottom (after the jump) photographs by Brian Dube/New York Daily Photo
3/14, 10PM - Via BNN:
U/D NY| MANHATTAN| *AUXILLARY OFFICER SHOT*| 146 WEST HOUSTON ST| A PERP SHOT A CIVILIAN 6 TIMES INSIDE A RESTAURANT, HE RAN OUT OF THE RESTAURANT AND ENCOUNTERED A UNIFORMED POLICE OFFICER, HE EXCHANGED GUN FIRE RAN AWAY, HE ENCOUNTERED TWO AUXILLARY POLICE OFFICERS AND SHOT ONE OF THEM TO THE HEAD AND RAN AWAY, ENCOUNTERED ANOTHER POLICE OFFICER AND ALSO EXCHANGED GUN FIRE. THE PERP HAS BEEN PRONOUNCED DOA . UNKNOWN CONDITION OF THE POLICE OFFICERS| BNNDESK/485/987/399/33There is a massive police presence in the area-- Houston to Bleecker, west of LaGuardia-- two choppers overhead, and all the local TV trucks rolling on to the scene. Bystanders at the scene told us that the gunman started the mayhem at the corner of Houston and Sullivan, outside De Marco's Pizza, and was chased by the cops to the corner of Bleecker and Sullivan, where he was shot by the police and killed. In between, he shot a responding cop in the head (inside the Lion's Head Bar.)
NY1 has a sketchy report from the scene. CW11 is saying that the cop who was shot is in serious condition at St. Vincents. Witnesses are describing a wild scene, with the cops firing multiple shots at the perp. WNBC was saying that the officers shot were auxiliary police, who normally don't carry weapons. Streets are shut down from Thompson to 6th, Houston up to Bleecker or 3rd.
Update: ABC is saying one of the officers was killed, and the other is in serious condition. That's been confirmed by other sources.
Update 3/14, 11:30PM: WNBC says this is what happened: After shooting the bartender inside DeMarco's, the gunman ran up to the Lion's Den on Sullivan to hide. Two auxiliary police officers chased him in there, and the gunman shot them. Then responding police officers, who were on the scene in 2 minutes, shot the gunman many times. There are three confirmed dead: The gunman, the bartender, and one auxiliary police officers.
The injured officers are at St. Vincent's Hospital. Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Kelly are there and will probably give a press conference once more information is available.
Update 12AM, 3/15: The Lion's Den said that the shooting took place outside and no one involved in the shooting entered the bar. And we're hearing the second auxiliary police officer died.
Update: WABC 7 confirms that both auxiliary police officers died. The gunman's 9mm gun was retrieved at the scene.
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I saw the helicopters circling from my window on 10th and Washington Street...I knew something was up. Then started looking for info via google news. Of course Fox 5 News was on but mentioned it only briefly before returning to the story on American Idol's contestants' hair-do's (roll eyes now.)
Bleecker and Sullivan
i heard there was a huge police response. thats some crazy ass shit!
Auxiliary cops should be armed. They're sitting ducks.
I heard at least 25-35 shots min, was wild, the response was immediate, within 2 minutes there were cops all over the place.
Channel 4 reported the bartender inside the bar (lions den i presume) was killed.
if this was in fact the Lion's Den, I may not trust CitySearch again, "Friendly atmosphere, a fierce sound system and music to soothe savages."
It's not the Lion's Den. it's some Italian restaurant. a bottle of red, a bottle of white.
This is such a safe neighborhood. I was at the Lion's Den two weeks ago. I can't believe this happened 1/2 a block from my apartment. I heard the shots and saw people running towards me with terror on their faces.
Holy crap!
Seriously, isnt this the third or so cop being shot/killed in the past few days. WTH is going on in the city?
You know what's funny? It was a Caucasian gunman.
But you all knew that.
I heard it was at a bar outside 208 Sullivan? That's old mob territory. I wonder what went down. Wow, this is real ol' NYC action. Scary stuff...but hey, being an old school NY'r I have to think opportunity here--maybe the Carrie Bradshaws will pack up and rents will finally go back down.
jc that is crazy!
Oh shoot, someone was killed. I take that back. That's not funny. That's horrible.
Aren't Police Auxiliaries basically regular citizens who volunteer to walk a beat and radio the "real" police if they something suspicious? Yes, they are (Wikipedia entry).
Wow, that's so sad.
This DID NOT happen inside the Lion's Den. NO bartender was shot there; in fact, no one involved in the incident entered the Lion's Den.
The networks and the AP got it wrong; I and other people associated with the Den (employees, partners) have called to correct them.
This is really sad about the auxiliary officers. The first time I noticed them in the city was during the '04 blackout. They were directing traffic at the intersections since all the traffic lights were out. They just appeared out of nowhere! It was nice to see them around.
I saw the 'bad' guy get shot down by the cops at the very end. We were eating in Bamboleo on Bleeker and they fired a shitload of rounds into him. sounded like machine guns. he was just laying face down on the sidewalk with blood pouring around him.
you can see him laying on the sidewalk in the background of this camera phone pic on my blog if you look close: selectroclash dot com
Saw the body on the CW11 broadcast, it was quite gruesome. Is there a full moon out? Spring fever?
Where's Al Sharpton?
Oh, I forgot.
Boy, you white people LOVE Al, don't you.
Anywhere there's whitey, they love Al. You must want his schlong in you.
BNN stuff is not for air, or for print for that matter. It's just information gathered from people sitting in a Fort Lee, NJ office listening to police/fire/EMS radio transmissions .. and sent out to subscribers in text form on a good old fashioned pager/beeper.
All information has to be verified with the appropriate agency, whether through official channels and/or a trusted source therein.
Auxiliary cops are a lot like Nazi block leaders from what the NYPD says, neighborhood-based patrols hired to spy on and harass their neighbors.
"but hey, being an old school NY'r I have to think opportunity here--maybe the Carrie Bradshaws will pack up and rents will finally go back down."
Absolutely, man. This city is in need of a fucking wake up call. It's built up this little bourgeois bubble for itself and it's time it be popped - about 5 cops injured or killed in 2 days is a start. Not that I advocate violence, but come on, Manhattan is moribund culturally and if this kind of shit can make "the Carrie Bradshaws" move to the suburbs, whatever.
Sean,
Two volunteer police officers get killed while serving their community and you take this moment to (a) compare them to Nazis and (b) grandstand about how you wish the people that call this city their home just as much as you do, would move away because they drink Starbucks or because they shop at Duane Reade to buy their their deodorant.
Among other things, Auxiliary Police Officers direct traffic, provide coverage at community events, and provide additional police coverage to the communities that they live in for no pay. In addition, they do all this despite the fact that the "real" police often disparage them and mock them for being wanna-be cops.
This is a sad, sad incident. My thoughts are with the families of these two volunteers.
thank you TJ.
I'd wish I'd heard the radio traffic when this happened. Would they call the AP cops as MOS and if other cops mocked them on air. You know how mature some NYPD members can be.
Sean,
You are a disgusting person. The Auxiliary Police put themselves in the community to help, to protect. They reduce crime markedly simply by providing added visibility and a sense of security.
You're willing to equate two noble human lives so that you can live your fantasy of a gritty New York City.
For that, you're a piece of trash.
My deepest condolences to the families, the Auxiliary Police Unit, and the whole department. This is a sad, sad day.
A clarification:
Look, I don't want to be disrepectful to human life in any way, and I'm sorry if my other angers made me get out of line. But, to elucidate my comments, I feel that gentrification and over-policing are superficial means of crime-prevention, as this incident shows. The fact that we hire more and more cops while making life for the poor more and more difficult makes no sense to me. If you look at the Gothamist map regularly you'll notice that most crimes occur in poor areas of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, but our police force cannot stop these, only respond to them meekly as the conditions that spawned them perist, and meanwhile the NYPD indiscriminately harass and patrol everyone else. I mean, for instance, I'll walk through the lower east side with a flask or something, bothering no one, humming songs to myself, and I have to feel afraid every two minutes because some fucking squad car rolls by. All of my favorite bars have been raided in the past year for bullshit reasons. I've been arrested/harassed for no reason at legitimate demonstrations. All of this is enforcing a state of arbitrary bourgeois security.
Look, we have 2 million people jammed on an island 2 miles wide. A shooting will occassionally happen, and yes, it's horribly tragic for everyone involved. But just think back to the 70s, when the crime rate was comparably high (and this is everywhere, not just New York, so there are obviously a lot of complex issues involved), and when the police presence was comparably low: we saw the birth of hip hop through "illegal" block parties, the birth of punk rock in the lower east side, wild-style graffiti, etc. etc. Now we have next to nothing of cultural value, ESPECIALLY in Manhattan (do we really want our cultural centers to be pushed further and further out into Brooklyn?) because anything even slightly out of line gets busted in two seconds. So I'm arguing against the police state NYC has become, not "for" the unfortunate deaths of these two individuals. A nd I'm sorry if I offended anyone.
Sean, yeah you bad, you bad. You wish for those pre-Guliani days when only ass holes like yourself roamed the streets. But now? Civilized people are walking the streets; they didn't have to pay the piper like you. Not fair huh? They joined the frat house without being hazed. Boo hoo what has the world come to?
Ah, but pray tell, what does "civilized" mean? White? Middle-class? Terribly uninteresting and uninspired? All-of-the-above? I'm sorry, but I doubt any of you can stand in Union Square and say "Babies R Us! Filene's Basement! Whole Foods! Ah, THIS is the city where I want to live!"
So anyway, does anyone like pie?
Yes.
I think because of the low crime rate, you're seeing more cops "bust chops". On Canal street today they hassled a vendor and the vendor and cop went through a restaurant window. the cop got special treatment all the way up to St. Vincents. The vendor got beaten up at the pct. and a bus was called in.
It's time for a revolution.
As for the murdered auxiliaries, this is an incredible tragedy. While a bulletproof vest wouldn't have saved the one shot in the head, one has to wonder if the other was wearing (or even had) a vest. It just sounds like wrong place at the wrong time for them.
And is having auxiliaries out on patrol really is a good idea. No real arrest or search powers, no firearm, no pepper spray or taser, just a radio... A regular Joe with a cell phone is probably just as effective for eyes/ears, and less likely to get assaulted or killed.
Finally, it's too bad that the roll of the dice tonight wound up with 3 innocent people dead, but a douchebag like sean with working hands and Internet. I don't think even mental illness could be an excuse to advocate murder of police for anything, let alone "purifying" the city.
Thank you. Also, 5 cops held down a girl on first avenue the other day because she took her shirt off. I'm not against a community protecting itself in one way or another, but it's become more than absurd.
That's because they've probably been serving minors, or have people creating a ruckus outside the bar, which disturbs people who have to actually live on the block.
Smells like BS to me. If you get antsy and jittery everytime you see a cop, even if they're not even paying attention to you, it sounds like you're living with a guilty conscience. Is "or something" what the kids call drugs or illegal weapons these days?
As for culture and the poor:
There are more museums, theatres, art galleries, and concert venues in Manhattan than in any other borough in the city, or any other city on this coast. If all of that doesn't equal culture, then could you explain to us what culture means?
As for poor conditions in certain parts of the city and violence there -- there are opportunities available to people to better themselves. It's drastic, but this even includes picking up and moving to another part of the country where life may be more affordable or otherwise easier.
When people don't care about education, when they use thugs as role models, when they decide that they're owed something by the rest of society and don't have to work to better themselves -- that's just ignorance and laziness. It's no excuse or free pass to kill anyone, to rob and steal from others, or to otherwise behave antisocially. And more cops haven't been hired -- there are 10% fewer than about 6 years ago.
However, it was a White gunman, this time.
so take your "by the bootstraps" argument and stuff it.
White people idolize "gangsta" rappers too, y'know.
Just look at Vanilla Ice.
...wait
First of all, I'm not carrying drugs or illegal weapons, thanks for the ad hominem attack though. And culture means SELF-CREATED culture, not culture kept up by the donations of upper-east side millionaires, regardless of how wonderful the upper east side museums are. on this level, we have a hip-hop culture and an indie rock culture, both being threatened by gentrification (and interestingly, the latter gentrifying the former).
As for the following argument: "there are opportunities available to people to better themselves"
It was bullshit when Horatio Alger propagated it in 1900 and it's bullshit now. Imagine our society functioning with no minimum wage class, or in broader terms, no working class. It's impossible. Industrial capitalism requires a vast underclass in order to function, and has tended to center such classes in poor, urban neighborhoods separate from the more privileged classes.
Well,
It is time for the natives to get restless huh? When cops ( The gang of New York) are killing people in the streets, wear that uniform and you may get shot dead.
The Mayor only wants his gang to guns but the last few days seem to show that the revolution is being televised.. The mayor is making every effort to get the guns out of the hands of the public which he desires to control.
Maybe New York is just becoming another town that will be underwater come 20 years from now, but hey sooner or later those being targeted by gangs strike back. Best coined as "we don't need to see your stinking badges", a gang working for some boston Billionaire, should justly be targeted.
DC guns laws just got struck down, I am sure that will happen sooner or later in NY. So when the water rise, we could be swimming with our guns just like Katrina. The right to bare arms to protect from aggression from the state shall not be abridged.
With over 165 deaths from NY/NJ law enforcement in the last six years since 9-11, state aggression against it citizens is at an all time high. Should those being oppressed take up arms against police who are oppressing them? V well may be for vendetta.
Even if they are what native new yorkers call "Fake Jakes", even if one of them went to Stuy HS just like that guy who posted the news story, he is a part of the system of state oppression that made 41 bullets a legal act to shoot at a person.
One should wonder if the new acceptable level of shooting citizens will now be 50 times.
Anarchist Antichrist you're my hero
Good grief- four people dead. Does anyone still wonder why the police shoot when they see, or think they see, or hear about a gun?
Honestly, the gun laws in this city are absurd. It is nearly impossible for an ordinary person to get a license to carry, yet its still horribly simple to buy an illegal gun on the street. What's the point of that?? It only assures criminals that the person they assualt/rob/murder are most likely not going to be armed. Has the NYC gun laws reduced gun crimes?? Not from the looks of it...especially in the last 2 days, although I'm sure Ray Kelly has cooked the statistics in his favor.
And BTW, having auxilliaries wearing a police uniform, indistinguishable from a regular cop, unarmed and probably without a bulletproof vest...now that's just plain dumb.
sean -- not necessarily meant to be an attack, but just really curious about why you get so nervous. Don't forget that other than some minor grass-roots action, even rap and emo gets corporate real quick. Those record and media execs on the evil UES are giving money to the museums because they can sell music.
From personal experience, I can tell you that if people want better lives for themselves or their families, there is usually a way for it to happen. It takes time and elbow grease, not lotto or gangs.
Jerky -- there is definitely something fishy with the NYPD's crime stats. Other than murder, they can all be manipulated. Mugged? More like lost property. Beaten up with a lead pipe? Minor assault. There have been scattered stories in the papers about things like this, but nothing big enough to blow the lid open on it.
The AP stories are reporting that one of a auxiliaries was 19 (!!!), a Russian immigrant, Stuy grad, and current NYU student. The other was 28 and a writer. Just awful.
My friend's daughter called her - screaming - she had just finished having dinner with her GirlFriends enjoying the rare warm evening weather - and suddenly all hell broke lose!
What a situation to find yourself in.
Is it me or is the city getting more violent lately? Are we just noticing it more because it has become rarer or are people targeting cops more? Since the Sean Bell shooting I wonder if we are people are getting bolder when it comes to confronting cops thinking that public sentiment is against them? It seems like every day some thug is doing something ever more blatant. Am I perceiving the situation wrong? Has anyone else thought this?
Anarchist Anti is a moron.
To Well: There are museums, theaters and live venues in every major city. Im not one of the people who equate high crime=good old new york, but you have to admit with NY slowly becoming more corporate and posh, its losing out on its charm. Its why all the upper east siders kids are moving to downtown and brooklyn, there's a wave of upper class cultural mediocrity waving through the city.
Sean raises up very interesting points, abiet it started off VERY badly when he kicked dirt on some dudes who died who's only offense was wearing a uniform and directing tourists to the West 4th station. Wrong time, wrong place. But select over
Speaking of gothamist, where are the 'The shooter was black, lock all the animals up!' comments I usually see...like its been said before I guess those arguments go out of the window at times like these;)
one of the cops was a was a native new yorker and nyu student. how people are basically celebrating his death as some sort of "about time/back to old new york" sort of thing is sickening. just what kind of old new york are you referring to here?
anyway, i'm interested in seeing the motive for this.
Do you guys understand that Upper East Side is just one tiny part of Manhattan? And that it has been there for decades with essentially the same types of people that live there now? So what if that area is completely boring? What, are you having a tough time securing funding for one of your "cultural projects" so you think the whole city is controlled by UES-ers?
If violence and crime begets creativity, then why don't you haul your ass over to Iraq or Sudan and wait for the Renaissance.
My Condolences to the families of the victims.
This is horrible, I swear this seems like the plot for a Bad Movie!
Oh yes, I pine for those wonderful days of fertile, citywide creativity when you had to practically run home from the filthy subway, crushing countless crack vials underfoot. Such halcyon days.
I don't buy this whole crime/grime/shitty city=innovative art/music/expression BS. There were just as many poseurs and dreadful "artists" back in the supposed good ol' days.
I'm sure had we not known better, we would have assumed it was another Law and Order shoot, had we been there.
So bizarre. So tragic. And My husband also wondered if Aux. cops are issued bullet proof vests.
Reminds me of the old Robin Williams joke about British cops not having guns: "STOP! OR ELSE...I'LL YELL 'STOP' AGAIN!!!"
Now were the Aux. Cops running to the scene of a reported shooting and what were they supposed to do when they got there if the shooter was still there??? Or did they just cross the perp as he was running away from the scene and the perp shot them because they were in uniform?
Unarmed, what are these Aux. Cops supposed to do? That's my question.
1. Don't chase a guy who is more than happy to shoot a 9 at your a-s when all you have is a flashlight, I don't give a f--k what.
They are supposed to *support* the cops, "eyes and ears" is the description (1984), not be the cops.
If that's all the common sense they had, it's probably best they did not have guns, or they would have shot up the block playing cops and robbers.
2. By not chasing guy with 9, be able to live another day, pretending to matter in your pretty little uniform.
It's not sad when stupid people die.
"It's not sad when stupid people die."
Are you fvcking stupid? They died making sure the gunman did notget away.
Maybe cowards like you deserve to die instead.
RE: NBR
Auxiliary cops are not issued vests, but are encouraged to purchase them personally. From my understanding, about 50% do (at least in my precinct).
Generally speaking, Auxiliary Officers do not respond to calls, and are advised to use extreme caution when dealing with a person who is suspected or known to be armed -- since they are armed only with a baton.
I'm not sure if these officers were in pursuit, or just caught in the middle of it. Regardless, it is tragic.
It doesn't seem like the auxiliary cops were necessarily chasing the guy, they were just there and in uniform.
"He literally crossed the street with his gun out to kill them in cold blood," Mayor Bloomberg said early today.