Questions About Fatal Police Shooting in the Bronx

While the fatal police shooting of a bat-wielding Bronx man was initially characterized as a domestic dispute, his family says Alex Figueroa was defending his 18-year-old stepdaughter's honor.

The Post reports that Figueroa, his wife, the stepdaughter and a friend went "to a fourth-floor apartment to confront two men who had made a comment about his stepdaughter's legs"; Figueroa was carrying a bat while the friend was holding a "wooden closet pole." When the argument escalated to involve 10 people, a neighbor called, telling the police about the fight and saying there was a gun.

Based on that information, police were were on "heightened alert"; according to the NY Times, at least one officer, the first to reach the scene, wore a bullet-resistant vest and had his weapon drawn." But the Daily News reports the 911 caller later admitted she lied about the gun "to get them to respond faster."

The first police officer on the scene, per the News, "took a step backward, and then fired once"; the 30-year-old cop claimed Figueroa "came at me with a bat." But Figueroa's wife Sandy Rodriguez said while the officer said "Don't move" once, he opened fire; she said, "Not even five seconds. 'Don't move' and then bang." Another witness told the Times that Figueroa initially had his back to the police and had turned when they said "Freeze": "They shot him when he turned around. I don’t think they gave him a chance. Everything was going so fast.” Still, some other witnesses told the police that they heard the police tell Figueroa to drop the bat and he moved towards them while lifting the bat.

Figueroa, who was shot in the chest, died at the hospital. The NYPD is investigating whether the shooting falls within departmental guidelines; the cop who fired has been placed on modified duty. Police spokesman Paul Browne added, "It is not helpful for the public to knowingly provide police with wrong information."

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

By Jen Chung in News on December 11, 2008 9:31 AM

Comments [rss]

GodLost

Call me old fashioned (or stupid) but if a neighbor opens his mouth about my family let alone a daughter, there is gonna be a confrontation that will almost surely be violent. You are all a some dick tucked between the legs slack jawed bitches.

New York is soft, hopefully just this website

DjSex0matic

man !! wtf!! don't you remember 2 years ago when a guy hit a cop with a baseball bat in the head and cracked his skull? almost killing him? justifiable force? hell yeaaaa!!

jaycjay

"with specific regard to unarmed men of color"

Which has specifically nothing to do with this occurrence.

mfib

I object to the relevance of the photo.

What does Anna Faris have to do with this story?

laisla

MisterTissue, while I agree the NYPD has used excessive force before, that does not mean every time they use force it's excessive.

Witnesses said the man came at the cop with a raised bat. I don't know about you, but I'd probably have shot too. It's split second decision making. Everyone knows if you come at a cop with anything, you are risking your life. This is not new. The cop is human, he felt threatened. It wasn't like the Bell case where 4 cops spent 50 plus bullets shooting at unarmed men or where several cops sodomized a man. One cop took a shot when he felt threatened and the man was not backing down. It appears to be a clean shoot (unless evidence shows otherwise). And comparing it to excessive force incidents is useless.

It sounds like someone is angling for a lawsuit in my opinion.

inoyourider

His own fault.

What else would you expect a PO to do with a raised bat in his face?

MisterTissue

Look, grabbing a bat about a comment about one's stepdaughter is STUPID. But not SO stupid that a man deserves to die. Does NYPD train their "finest" with mail-in correspondence course? Do they train them at all?! I know mistakes get made in all lines of work and police work is not exempt, but the NYPD seems to continually make asses of themselves, with specific regard to unarmed men of color and the shoving of things up asses. This city should be ashamed to have so undisciplined and cruel a police force.

r1b2

I don't understand the rush to grab bats and confront other folks. Escalation begets escalation. And now he's dead.

zodak

i think we need to see some pictures of these legs to determine if they were worth dying over.

Buck Owens

I went to Bronx once or twice and could not believe such squalor exists within the archipelago of New York City. That being said, I consider the areas that exist outside of the demilitarized zones of the Bronx Zoo and the Botanical Gardens as anti-social buffer zones between the ‘Zoological Garden State’ and the Isle of Manhattan with the NYPD serving as Zookeeper/National Park Service personnel.

whitecastlerock

Considering they had the chance to shove a pole, bat, or a baton up his ass, the cops just shot him? What the fuck is that all about? Where is the justice?

Snoopy

Let's get the facts straight before we rush to judgment. What exactly was the "legs" comment? I don't want any guesses here. I want the exact wording.

us jersey folk

#13, I was waiting for that comment to show up. Put yourself on this scene for just a second. Guys are beating each other with clubs. You've been put on high alert, told that someone has a gun. Everyone is screaming, there's tons of noise. You walk in and say "police, nobody move!" and this guy starts to turn towards you. You have no idea whether or not he has a gun. Maybe as he turns his arms are slightly elevated making it look like a strike position (whether or not that's the perp's intent). You're standing in front of this guy that's holding a bat looking like he wants to kill. You've been told he has a gun. Your first move would be to turn and shoot this jackass.

The 911 caller will probably be held somewhat liable as well for deliberately lying to the dispatcher. In the world of law enforcement, assault with a weapon is assault with a weapon and you'll get dozens of officers on scene within a minute. You don't need to upgrade the complaint to get them there faster. These are the kinds of people who call for an ambulance and say that grandma's not breathing when she's got back pain or something....

laisla

kswissreject: "Taking a bat and a wooden pole to confront two men who made a suggestive comment about his stepdaughter - that's not "defending her honor," just stupid."

My thoughts exactly. There was no good possible ending to two guys taking items to be used as weapons to confront someone else. Over something so incredible stupid.

thefacts

Does anyone know whether he said her legs were shapely or stumpy? It's a big difference in the world of macho men.

usaidit

I love how the public hears words like "freeze" as if they are watching a movie. Police are trained to say things like "Police, Dont Move" but never the word "Freeze".

The Man Bat

Cops like to kill people.....does this really surprise anyone?

Wza

Oh boy...here we go..

rdsizzle

I find a "legs" comment to be the least offensive one from a sexual harrasement point of view. Perhaps should have warranted a verbal warning without weaponary.

However, should the comment have been about other body parts, perhaps the wooden pole could have been justified.

rcltrh

Another criminal gone. Good riddance. Too bad the friend with the closet pole is still around to repeat this behavior at a later date. I love how the whole family gathered clubs to go beat/maim/kill a guy who made a remark about her legs. Classy. Sounds like something white trash would do in the south.

BigNick

Funny how the wife, who was involved in the brawl, said that her husband had his hands at his side and "was doin nuttin", but three witness told cops he raised the bat and one said he moved toward the cops. Drop the bat dumbass.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2008/12/10/2008-12-10_family_outraged_at_police_shooting_of_br.html

Stay Classy indeed.

neckbeard

i'm willing to bet that this neighbor felt like she had to lie about the gun or the cops wouldn't have given a shit.

either way, this is just an awful, awful story.

CubanB

Yeah me too, like maybe fix my hair or straighten my tie.

kcin122

if someone has a gun Im going to drop whatever weapon Im holding and look as nice as possible.

theevilone

Thanks good neighbor. Way to get a man killed.

Guest

Idiots all around. Just because some jerks make some off-color remark about your stepdaughter's legs, it doesn't mean you have to act all macho and confront said jerks. Violence begets violence.

Sounds to me like the person who made the 911 call should also be held accountable for the death of Figueroa.

jonathan

Stay classy, Bronx.

indy

yet another instance of cops using minorities as target practice.

kswissreject

Taking a bat and a wooden pole to confront two men who made a suggestive comment about his stepdaughter - that's not "defending her honor," just stupid.