White Cop Shoots, Kills Off-Duty Black Cop in Harlem

The only important issue is: what was Officer Edwards' actions moments prior to his being shot?

Who's the first to point out the respective races of the parties involved? The media. The first report I heard of this was on TV, and the reporter specifically emphasized the respective races of the 2 officers involved. We drive the media, not the other way around. If we buy into the sensationalism, they'll feed it to us. The country is always saying we should move beyond race. But with each incident, we can't but mention race. How are we ever going to move beyond it?

And it's important to remember: Sharpton does not speak for all blacks on all issues. And for that matter, neither do popularly-elected leaders like Rangel, etc. There are myriad viewpoints. Let's not paint the black community with 1 brush.

i see what you did there.

i see what you did there.

Trajedy, yes. But if you're a cop trying to stop someone who is chasing someone else gun out, you'd probably shoot them too. The error I see is that they didn't warn him, because if they did he'd probably stop knowing the procedures.

Michael Mineo was anally probed by 3 policeman...

2 of the 3 policeman were Hispanic. Why weren't they referred to as Hispanic???

I just hope it was a terrible accident but who knows? Right now I'd believe anything about the NYPD.

http://twitter.com/Newyorkist/status/1956182023

At one point last night around 12am, two officers came outside of the ER entrance and lit up cigarettes under the eaves of the building about twenty feet away from the entrance.

A hospital security guard walked up to them and not only told them they couldn't smoke on hospital property, but when the officers were slow to move, the guard forcefully waved his hand in the direction of the sidewalk, and again told them they have to go off hospital property to smoke.

Guess he was just keeping the public's interest safe, and doing a good job. I couldn't help but think that was pretty brave of him though in light of the situation. The two officers smoking were not jerks about it and did not make any remarks. They seemed kinda irritated that they were being instructed on what to do, but they moved.

How about not allowing the NYPD to carry lethal weapons? Rubber bullets, sandbags, tazers...there are plenty of non-lethal options. I know the response is that the criminals have guns so the cops need them, but some other nations seem to do just fine without them.

oh, the mayor will get testy and be more insensitive.

already he said officer edwards is gone. what a heart this guy has.

so that's why they didn't mention the second shooting victim last night.

this happens way too much. not just in NYC.

I say to black cops to shoot white suspects for any running or furtive movements. say you feared for your life and want to go back home safe to your family and the suspect had a gun.

my thought's go out to the Edwards family.

I wonder what NYPD rant is saying about this. probably blaming officer edwards.

On a totally unrelated note, is that a Toyota Prius squad car?

Altima hybrid. NYPD got 40 of them (22 marked) about a month ago.

Actually, with another look, that is a Prius. But it's not a "squad car," it's Traffic. They've had a few of them for a year or so.

here comes Al Sharpton

While this is an unfortunate incident, you can't assume that this was a result of the white cop being a racist. You only now assume that because of this ridiculous headline. "White Cop Shoots, Kills Off-Duty Black Cop in Harlem"

Jon Del Signore, you are an absolute idiot. How did you get your job? How did you get away with this headline? Who's your Editor in Chief? Classless attempt at drawing attention to your otherwise uninformed article.

It's a shame that you guys never write about the good that the NYPD does.

Gothamist is mainly run by racebaiting yuppies who went to Columbia and all probably live in cushy, white neighborhoods.

It's also somrthing called the internet. It's all about page hits.

Kinda like, "If it bleeds, it leads"

welcome NYC3449. where are these commenters coming from,

yesterday it was "attorney at law" bitching about the ACS worker headline.

ALSO

if you hate this headline, go over to gawker...

their headline:

"great, a racially-charged cop shooting"

welcome to the internet. it's a weBLOG. get used to it.

"How did you get away with this headline? Who's your Editor in Chief?"

You might ask the Daily News the same questions about their headline: "Black cop killed by white officer."

"It's a shame that you guys never write about the good that the NYPD does."

There are articles here every day about various criminals being arrested by NYPD. Clearly this story is newsworthy and also should be covered.

of course it deserves to be covered. It's a tragedy to say the least and a good man lost his life last night.

My point is, we don't see other headlines like:

Black Maya Angelou, White Cynthia Nixon Phoning NY Pols on Gay Marriage

or

NYC Prepares for White Prince Harry

"there are articles written everyday about criminals being arrested"

Thanks, good to know. But my point is, a cop makes a stupid mistake and all of the sudden, all white cops are racist, hood wearing animals.

It's how the news works, kid, get used to it.

Even though "Cop kills Off-Duty Cop" would still be pretty crazy.

This is NYC and not a war zone. The total disregard for life for civilians including alleged criminals is sickening. This shoot to kill policy need to be reverse and I am sure the PBA is behind the shoot to kill policy.

I'm for a shoot to kill policy.

Almost every police department in this country has a "shoot to kill" policy.

Every time a gun is fired, there's a chance somebody will be killed. Therefore, a gun shouldn't be used unless there's justification for deadly force -- otherwise, nonlethal alternatives are called for (and a gun can never be presumed to be nonlethal).

If there is a reason to use deadly force, the safest thing for bystanders and other cops is to aim for center mass, which is a shot likely to kill. That's why there are no warning shots, no shots aimed at arms or legs, etc. Fire should be aimed where there's the best chance that it will affect only the target.

yes in this country but not UK and other european countries.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/shoottokill-policy-dropped-after-menezes-killing-1063733.html

We live, however, in this country.

You ONLY shoot to kill, never to wound. Deadly force is just that. The Off duty should not have drawn his weapon. Taking property from a car is not a situation where deadly force is authorized. Under the law you can only use force needed to make an arrest, or deadly force if you feel your life is in danger. An experienced officer would never draw his weapon on someone stealing PROPERTY. And now, you are standing on the street with a gun, and police roll up, and guess what...use of force will be justified. Anyone would do the same thing. If its you or them, its not gonna be you.

Save your speech for Officer Edwards wife and family when you see them at the funeral.

hah hah. now i remember why i hate it when i'm getting a coffee and some assfinger who thinks he's dirty harry has his service piece dangling 6 feet from my head.

Taking property from a car is not a situation where deadly force is authorized.

i don't recall the thief getting shot/shot at. would seem to me that the off-duty had his piece drawn for defensive purposes.

but you clearly know procedure better than i do. any person with a gun drawn is fair game for the NYPD, regardless of where it is pointed.

remember, the back is an easy target. did they teach you that at academy too, rolltide?

R.I.P officer Edwards, my sympathies for your young wife and 2 children. I respect you for not shooting the suspect you were chasing. You did the right thing and I hope a full investigation is done. peace.

Shoot to kill? Yeah. The is exactly what we are trained to do.

All you keyboard cowboys have no idea

apparently neither do some of your colleagues.

one thing i can't help thinking while reading this story is why was edwards running down the street with his weapon drawn in the first place? i'm not a cop so i don't know what procedure is, but if you are pursuing a burglar, or any other "low-level" perp, why would you pull out your gun? to me that just makes the situation way more dangerous when there is probably little danger involved as the burglar is just trying to carl lewis his way out of an arrest.

"in the back" no less...way to go NYPD...friendly fire won't even force them to make changes to their training.

The cop is going to use the old refrain of "I feared for my life"- and I say f*ck him...

So the uniformed officer thought the off-duty cop was a gun-wielding gangsta. Fine. Unfortunate but understandable. But here's the thing: if the perceived perp was following orders (and having been a cop for two years, we can assume he was complying to the letter of the law) the officer on duty never should have shot in the first place. And six shots? That's shooting to kill.

Sure, the fact that they were both cops makes this situation a tragically ironic headline-grabber; but this would have been equally tragic had the victim been a lowly thug with a 9mm. We just never would have heard about it.

Hopefully the NYPD has actually learned something, today. Deadly force is always the last resort.

According to the article the three POs that responded were plainclothes. I'm not sure if there would have been a difference in outcome if the responding POs were in full uniform and in a marked NYPD cruiser. If they didn't identify themselves immediately or fast enough could Officer Edwards have turned around with his pistol pointed towards them? Did he point the gun at them ANYWAY because HE wasn't sure they really were cops? This is all stuff that needs to be cleared up. There's just so much that is unknown, but I agree with most everyone: NYPD procedures are not working - FATALLY so - for cops and citizens alike.

I am very interested to see if these questions ever get answer but I doubt it. I feel bad for the officer's family, this is such a stupid way to go.

These are good questions of the sort that are not likely to be asked, unfortunately. The details will perhaps come out later, after all the uproar. It's very likely that the victim turned around and possibly pointed his gun at the POs responding on the scene. If so, it's all too easy to see how this may have happened.

Moreover, why did the off-duty officer take it upon himself to apprehend the perp? Right or wrong, white or black, I wouldn't want to put myself in the position of being in plain clothes, chasing somebody down with a gun drawn, when I know police officers are going to be responding. It's just an inherently dangerous situation.

"Moreover, why did the off-duty officer take it upon himself to apprehend the perp?"

Probably... a combination of because he was a cop and the guy was committing a crime, because he was pissed that the guy had broken into his car, because he'd just struggled with the guy before he slipped away so adrenaline was pumping. As a matter of policy and training it was probably not the right thing to do, but it's certainly an understandable thing.

And if this ended slightly differently, and he'd managed to capture the guy before the anti-crime car arrived, he'd still be in the papers today as a hero off-duty cop who went beyond the call of duty.

Right about now Sharpton is hustling his fat ass down to city hall, eyes bugging out of his head, beads of sweat rolling down his face...

Speaking of which, i saw him on TV yesterday. Did he recently get a facelift?

Lookin' good, Al!

horrible.

"A white cop fatally shot a black off-duty officer"

I see what you did there.

The bottom line is if young black men werent commiting crimes with guns everyday this tradegy may have been averted. Everyday Young Blacks are commiting crimes and shooting eachother in the city THIS IS A FACT. If you want to beleive this statement is racist its also the truth Late at night plainclothes officers sees a young black man with a gun running after another perp tells him to stop and drop it following procedure Anyone one of Us would have done the same thing when Off Duty officer turned around with gun still in hand We all a would have shot him.It sucks its a horrible accident nothing more.

The bottom line is if young black men were given actual opportunities by a system that is specifically designed to keep them from improving their social position, this tradegy may have been averted. Everyday Young Blacks are denied a quality education, access to promotions, quality health care, and any sense of hope in the city - THIS IS A FACT. If you want to believe this statement is racist, it's also the truth. Late at night plainclothes officers sees a young black man with a book, running after a school bus tells him to stop and drop it, is following procedure. Anyone member of the KKK would have done the same thing when Off Duty officer turned around with gun still in hand. All racists would have shot him.

I had a "young black man" in my class and when he was being continuously disruptive, as many high school students are especially after lunch, I asked him to leave the room until he's ready to calm down and sit in his seat. His reaction? "Can't a black man get any respect around here"? Seriously??? I discipline any student who is being disruptive and interrupting the class. That student was given plenty of opportunity to shape up, as are ALL MY STUDENTS REGARDLESS OF COLOR... but somehow, you think blacks are being deprived of a means to improve their lives?? Maybe they are just not taking the opportunities and playing the race card for every little inequity.

I think it's quite a bit more complicated. Your comment also plays up the entitled "I'm a victim" mentality that discourages people from improving their own lot in life. If you think the city is selectively denying blacks a good education you are an idiot. The worst schools are bad because of the communities they are in and the lack of participation and interest from the parents.

There are plenty of teachers who would love to serve disadvantaged kids that become quickly discouraged when they meet reality. Unless you advocate taking children and raising them somewhere where education is valued, I don't see how this can be fixed without the community taking ownership of the problem.

Of course it's more complicated - my comment was more of a jab at the other poster's absurd comment.

That said, I do believe that there is a fair amount of inherent racism that is built into the system at large, whether people are willing to admit it or not. For example, I would bet that if you were to mention a random poor-performing school to a high-ranking member of the DOE, they would automatically assume the school is in a black or hispanic neighborhood, not a white one. Teachers inadvertently often pass on similar engendered prejudices as well. Children pick up on this and develop a sense of indifference and eventually pass it on to their children and whole communities develop on the belief that nothing they can do will make a difference, so they might as well give up and collect welfare.

Of course, there are the incredibly strong individuals who break the cycle and build lives for themselves outside of the system that is stacked against them, but the amount of sheer willpower such people possess is far beyond what most of us will ever have.

From a community perspective, though, communities can only take ownership of their problems if they actually feel like business owners and politicians care enough to help them enact change. But, the majority of politicians expect these communities to fail as well and rarely see it worth the effort to help. Look at the South Bronx for example. The city stripped locals of valuable green space and gave it away to a large business (the Yankees) that could care less about people who live nearby. How is a community supposed to fight the Yankees if politicians won't listen. For those community members who tried to fight, I'm sure they felt powerless, and this feeling is absorbed by children and the cycle continues.

How many black kids in Harlem are going to look at this shooting and not see it as another kick in the stomach? I'm sure once these white officers are let off with a slap on the hand, the sense of powerlessness in the face of the deck that is stacked against minority communities will grow even stronger.

You raise interesting points, but I still think, having spoken with many young, able, ivy league graduate grade school teachers who taught in East Harlem, that the community is the issue. Think about that for a second: they have ivy league graduates teaching grade school in East Harlem and it makes little difference. How many resources can you throw at a problem with no results before you give up?

When the parents can't be bothered to be there for the kids, how much can the teachers intervene in their eight hours a day? When the kids come into kindergarten already behind, whose fault is it? On the other hand if you look at immigrant communities, low income, many of them "black", the parents work their asses off and push their kids in school, working with the teachers and schools and suddenly these are the kids taking the minority scholarships away.

It only works when people are willing to work hard and at least meet halfway. Instead there are people who want everything handed to them and whose kids are never taught the value of hard work.

Having said all that - most of the schools in the new york system are mediocre to poor. Even in the best neighborhoods there are only a handful of excellent schools. Property tax is too low in NYC and the dollars are spread too thin on such a huge system. I know of at least one great school where the parents donate money to provide teacher's aides and supplies. That doesn't sound like a system that is set up to succeed for any kids here except for the ones lucky enough to live in a community with such heavy involvement. I know we're moving from the city to avoid the public school debacle.

As for community involvement can only start when they feel like they're not being held back... No one's holding anyone back! If people feel that way they are perpetuating the myth themselves. There are a lot of people willing to help - especially children for crying out loud. The problem is that if the community feels hopeless then that's what the kids feel too.

Its surprisingly nice to have a civil discussion with someone on a blog. Who knew?!

Anyway, I'd hesitate to say that just because someone has an Ivy League degree that they somehow should be an awesome super-qualified teacher. I know several Ivy Leaugers who spent their college years wasting their trust fund on drugs, and I wouldn't let them near my kids. That point aside, you also can't just put a few good teachers in a school and expect everything to change overnight, which is also part of the problem with the education system being so closely tied to the educational system. Every 4 years, everyone wants to do a complete overhaul, and many young, motivated teachers lose that feeling pretty quickly through a combination of bureaucratic incompetence and parental apathy.

I'm not saying I have any answers, but I think it's not as simple as "the education system sucks" or "parents suck", but the problems are so ingrained in the whole system that it's hard to figure out where to start. I definitely agree that parents need to be more involved, but at some schools in some communities, it still doesn't make much of a difference if all you encounter is apathy.

This blog isn't too bad, try craigslist for a civil discussion. :)

I agree that the community isn't the whole problem but it's the one place that I can point to with certainty and say "if the attitudes in this community changed over night, it would get the ball rolling and everything else will follow." When I say everything else I mean better teachers, more help from politicians and charities like Robin Hood, community recognition, lower crime, police officers without itchy trigger fingers, etc. And of course all of that leads to better education and generational improvement.

You're right about the ivy league teachers not necessarily being great. The ones I know, who aren't just Teach For America lackeys but have masters degrees in education, are great and moved on to other schools. It's kind of like that adage that a car can be cheap, fast or reliable, pick two. There's only so much a teacher can put up with whether it be a dangerous neighborhood, bad parents, psycho kids, horrible bureaucracy, etc.

One great thing that Bloomberg has done in the last few years is to remove a principal's veto power when teachers want to switch schools within the system. Not only does it retain teachers who might otherwise bolt for a different district but it highlights principals for whom no one wants to work. Unfortunately, tenured teachers can stick around forever keeping the apathy at a school alive. The professions where the pay is identical but some people give their life and soul while others mail it in are a bit odd. Yet *another* reason to become disillusioned as a teacher or parent.

Anyone one of Us would have done the same thing

that's why we aren't cops.

also, you're an asshat.

"The victim, a recently married father of a 1-year-old and 7-month-old"

Thats 5 months apart, so Im assuming 2 kids with different baby mamas 5 months apart...

I like turtles

Actually they were 11 months apart. As per the Post "Edwards, who lived in Bushwick, Brooklyn, with his wife, Danielle Edwards and their two sons, Xavier, 18 months, and Keanu, 7 months."

This is such a sad story and it will be in the news since it shows a lack of proper training. Six shots fired without letting the dead officer ID himself is shoddy police work.

Haha. Well, the NYPD isn't exactly the epitome of non-shoddy police work.

Yeah because when you give out your age I'm sure you always indicate year, month, week, day, hour, minutes, and seconds since your birth.

"Hi, I'm Rdsizzle. I'm 30 years, 11 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 8 minutes, and 55 seconds old."

You guys are very sensitive. It was just an observation that struck me. Typically, until a baby is 2 years old they are reffered to by months. So in this case, if both babies are from the same mother, it would be better to report an 18 month old and a 7 month old. Just saying, it struck me when I read it. Whether his kids are from one or two mothers, I feel bad for them. An jibbly, no we wouldent need the week, hour, minute and second, just month as is typical with young babies.

Wow, DICKHEAD

When a father of two babies is fatally shot do you think it's appropriate to start spouting off racial stereotypes? Yes? No?

Very sensitive my ass.

Don't even try to spin your way out of it, asshole.

Oh give me a break, im not trying to spin shit...get your head out of your ass

Oh fuck off.

"Typically, until a baby is 2 years old they are reffered to by months. So in this case, if both babies are from the same mother, it would be better to report an 18 month old and a 7 month old"

is pure bullshit spin, and you know it. Just fucking go away.

Its funny how my 2 line observation, which honnestly wasent intended to be racist got so much fanfare. That being said, I understand how it came off as insensitive and I appologize for hurting all of your feelings.

That being said # 13 makes a straight racist comment and doesent get any flack for it.

Your anger is misguided...It aint me your looking for...

No, you didn't hurt anyone's feelings so don't "apologize" for that. What you SHOULD do is admit that you made an asinine comment and was rightfully called out as an insensitive, racial stereotyping asshole for doing so.

Moving on.

I'm going to chime in and add to the fact that you are an insensitive piece of shit who thought he was being witty.

Would you say such a thing in public? Around your friends?

Ass.

This man is dead; only a racist scumbag would go out of his way to leave that comment. Go away.

i'm not sure it was your math that upset people.

dickweed.

You are a FUCKING MORON.

1-year-old is anywhere from 12 to 24 months old.

FUCKING ASSHOLE.

The shooter's name is Wojohowitz.

Major review of training procedures needed for the NYPD.

That's so horrible for his family. And what the hell is wrong with some of the cops in this city? Why is everything always shoot first, ask questions later? I wonder if they even gave him a chance to drop his gun before they murdered him.

oh yeah, apart from my snarky summation of the NYPD's tactics, my heart goes out to the late officer's family. this is truly awful.

my heart, however, does not go out to the shooting officer. you fail at police work. i hope they chain you to a desk pronto before you can mistakenly shoot any other co-workers, firefighters, EMTs or any other emergency responders.

Get ready for the shitstorm.

The storm is coming and I am afraid.

white off-duty cop draws gun on guy breaking into his car, gets assist from uniformed officers in area, has a beer with the uni after the "awesome timing", is joking about this right now with his friends at the precinct.

black off duty cop is dead.

black guy in harlem had a gun drawn. the NYPD has an official unofficial "shoot first" policy. our tax dollars pick up the settlement.

yay NYC!

A key question is whether or not the off duty cop had the gun in a threatening position.

It sounds like they didn't give the off duty cop a chance to drop his weapon or identify himself.

But the real question is whether the white police officer would have shown more restraint if the off-duty cop were white.

We all know the answer. And this is going to make the NYPD look even worse in the black community.

"We all know the answer"

Really? ALL of us? You speak for everyone? WOW! Fuck Obama, you clearly are the one in charge around here.

Trying to reply to John Matrix.

"We all know the answer"

Really? ALL of us? You speak for everyone? WOW! Fuck Obama, you clearly are the one in charge around here.

from the daily news article:

"His father couldn't fathom how such a fatal mistake could happen.

"If a police officer sees someone with a gun, you don't just fire without asking questions or trying to apprehend the person," said Ricardo Edwards, 72. "If the person was firing at a police officer, I understand."

I understand that the father is devastated, but you cant wait for the other person to start shooting before you open fire. One bullet could be the difference between life and death. Also, they can train you over and over again in the academy but accidents and mistakes will always happen.

Was the white cops name Pryzbylewski?

it's a shame but that was my first though too when i read this.

Crossed my mind, too, but this may not have happened in exactly the same way. On the show, Prez basically says immediately after the shooting he just saw a gun, so fired. Later he says he doesn't remember whether he identified himself or not. Of course, the incident happens off-screen, so we as viewers never know what really happened.

And the cop who was shot in that episode was an undercover on duty, so no policy/training questions about how he was conducting himself. In the fictional incident it's pretty clear that the cop who fired was at fault.