October 10, 2007
2nd Ave. Stabber's Uncle Says He Warned Cops, But They Deny It
The uncle of Lee Coleman, the man that stole several knives and slashed two people on 2nd Ave. last Saturday before being shot by an off-duty officer, says that he called the police hours before the attack and that they refused to help. Alexander Flowers said that on 4 a.m. Saturday morning he saw his nephew, who was clearly disturbed. He called Co-op City security and then the police around 7 a.m. According to the New York Post, Flowers received a visit by two officers at 8 a.m. and then two detectives at 10 a.m.
All four officers, he said, told them they couldn't help.NYPD spokesman Paul Browne disputed Flowers' account yesterday, saying that the first time the uncle contacted police was at 10:45 am Saturday morning to file a missing person's report regarding his nephew. That allegedly came 15 minutes after Coleman had already gone on his 2nd Ave. slashing spree. Flowers responded to the Post, "They are lying. They're lying, period. I'll tell them to their face that they are liars." Our question: Are there cameras in Co-Op City lobbies?"They said he [Coleman] wasn't a child or a senior citizen. [A detective] told me he couldn't take a report because of that fact," Flowers said. "They should have listened to me and taken heed of what I was saying. If they had responded in ample time . . . it could have been prevented. They didn't respond."
Coleman's victims Amarjit Singh and Susan Barron are still hospitalized, but reportedly their conditions are improving.
(IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING, by Triborough at flickr)
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yes there are cameras. They broadcast to actual channels on residents tvs. I am not sure however, if the images are saved or looped or what have you, b/c their primary function is to let residents see who they are letting the building, or, as my mother did, see if the laundry room is crowded or not.
Co-op City is however, filled with very nosey neighbors.
Co-op City security is a private firm, they are not the police, nor do they notify the police in many situations. Its possible this man did call security, they came, did as he said, and the NYPD had nothing to with it. CO-op city residents don't usaully call 911 or the police for crimes or complaints, they call security.
I believe the uncle. I've tried to tell police things a few times and have gotten a similar response. "Can't do anything about it". NYPD street officers are lazy. They never listen until someone gets hurt.
what could the police do anyway? the guy was a grown ass man. what were they supposed to do, issue a APB for an adult that has committed no crime but whose family members think is crazy or having a breakdown?? for every one of those that ends up killing themselves or hurting someone else there are probably 1,000 who would then sue the nypd for harassing/arresting them for no good reason
if the police acted and arrested the guy, his family would have sued the nypd. you cant win
@3. Agreed. The police are mostly useless.
@5. Agreed. It's the damn lawsuits that make them useless, not that they are moronic bullies who haven't been trained to serve the community. (this is sarcasm)
I hope somebody pipes in that we should pay these bullies more. So we can have well-paid useless bullies roaming our streets paralyzed by fear of lawsuits... useless against real crime.
We'll see who's telling the truth. If it's the cousin, the NYPD is gonna be in a WHOLE lot of trouble, deserved or not.
Cops are dumb - always reactive, rarely proactive...
Aren't there mostly black people in coop city?
So if I tell a cop that a street person is acting in a threatening manner, do they have to arrest him?
ACCOUNTABILITY!!!
Coleman's family, if anyone at all, is mostly to blame, not the police, not the voices in his head, his family should have admitted him to a hospital—immediately.
Coleman has been sick, this isn't just something that came out of nowhere... He's been sick...
Hey edEx, read this again:
"They said he [Coleman] wasn't a child or a senior citizen. [A detective] told me he couldn't take a report because of that fact," Flowers said. "They should have listened to me and taken heed of what I was saying. If they had responded in ample time . . . it could have been prevented. They didn't respond."
How is an uncle, who I would presume to be at least 50 years old, going to tie down a crazy guy in his 30s, and then take him to the nearest mental hospital... assuming his insurance would cover it?
It seems to me that the family saw the guy acting crazy and dangerous, and then called the police. What else do you expect them to do.... send them to Arizona on a plane by himself?
Maybe they can listen to Noah Gottbaum's advice, and lament the fact that no one was there to give him a hug.
edEx, you are a first class TOOL.
Fortune Cookie Say: "If you looky something say something, UNLESS you looky at crimes committed by US soldier in Iraq"