Cops Shot Far Rockaway Teen 11 Times

This kid pointed a loaded firearm at police officers. 11 shots were fired by a total of four officers. They didn't fire eleven each and they don't say "okay, you're turn" after each one fires. They each likely fired 2-3 shots each. Maybe they hit him in the chest and it spun him around, I have no idea how this works. The fact remains the kid had a gun and he pointed it at officers. And to the stupid moron earlier who sarcastically commented about how being in the park after dark is such a serious offense, that wasn't the issue. The victim's two friends received SUMMONSES for being in the park. This kid ran because he had a firearm and was scared to receive the mandatory 3+ years for a loaded weapon so he ran. It is sad that it had to come to this but better him then the police.

This makes me feel sick, The police are shocking at times, They need to sort out there act.

Here comes another lawsuit. Does anyone ever think about the cops and their well being in these situations? These guys have families too and if someone is pointing a gun at them then they have every right to shoot that person until they know he or she is done with. This stuff never happens to people who actually stop and communicate with the police when they are told to do so. Maybe he didn't stop because HE HAD AN ILLEGAL 9MM PISTOL ON HIM!

It really hard to know who good or bad, it shows how dangerous our world today. We don't know what exactly a the whole story is.

1. It's AMAZING HOW MANY OF YOU just blindly trust the media and the govt. (You mean you ALL trust the same source that told you Bernie Kerik was a hero and super-honest? Or do you trust the sources that told you Iraq had WMDs?

2. Perhaps none of you know the NYPD have gotten caught LYING to you on tens of thousands of occasions. (Hey, how about the cyclist they arrested last year in Times Square who was slammed by a fine cop protecting the citizenry? OOPS: a tourist's video ENDED ALL DEBATE that the NYPD = a criminal organization that is brutal, criminal, dishonest, and super-corrupt. Turned out the cops lied about EVERYTHING. The goomba cop slammed the cyclist solely b/c the cop was a psychopath! And his partners helped him cover it up!)

But they know most of you have no memory and no brains.

PERHAPS THIS KID was a total scumbag and the story is true, but knowing the NYPD, and knowing the media, it's far more likely the story is NOT accurate.

THIS is why you keep getting bad politicians in every single election: YOU DON'T EVER USE YOUR HEADS.

its amazing how you blindly trust the family members of this fine upstanding citizen.

its amazing how every news article includes the family saying "he was such a good kid, he would never do this." such a good kid? he pled guilty to robbery and did 18 months in jail.

until concrete evidence comes out to prove to the contrary, ill believe the cops. cops dont pray on innocent civilians, whether you want to believe it or not they protect them. this guys past criminal record proves he does, and there's no doubt in my mind that had these cops not encountered this kid, there would have been yet another dead young black male in far rockaway and it wouldnt have been at the hands of police, it would have been at the hands of this "good kid"

Totally agree. absolute waste of ammo....

I've shot handguns, rifles, and shotguns multiple times--all legally. It is NOT easy to hit a target, especially one in motion. I have no interest in the opinions of anyone who wants to say what cops should have done, until they've fired weapons themselves.

thank you... someone who finally has a rational post.

combine this with the fact that the nypd modifies all cops guns so the trigger pull is 12 pounds, which makes a gun even harder to shoot accurately. but why let simple facts like this stand in your way of another chance to scream out police brutality.

"if you see a cop, say thank you. you really have no idea what they do, and the lengths they go to, to keep YOU safe."

Ableight all this conversation, in any country where it ok for civilians or your bog standard policeman to own a gun there are two things certain: lots of people are going to die and millions more will waste their time argueing the ins and outs of who was right and who was wrong. Maybe time for some new amendments eh?

and one quick hypothetical situation for all you people who seem to know the best way for the police to do things. (and in no way am i implying this is what happened in this situation)

the cops see a person with a gun, attempt to stop him, and the person takes off running. while the suspect is running away from the cops he points his gun backward at the police and fires at them. the police respond by firing back and strike the man 3 times in the center of the back. is that excessive force for shooting a man in the back?

i'm a big fan of the picture at the top of the page that was supplied by the family and that appeared in most of the papers. it gets looked over by many people not in the know. whats with the rosary beads? was this kid religious? rhetorical question folks. rosary beads often take the place of gang members wearing colored clothing to identify the gang they belong to. first they switched to color coded beaded necklaces, but the cops caught on to that too, so now they wear color coded rosary beads so they can say, "im not in a gang, im just religious." thats usually accompanied by the bottle of holy water in the pocket, which in reality is a bottle of pcp for them to dip their cigarettes in.

also lets not forget the gang sign he's "throwin up" in the picture.

looks like a good boy to me. how dare the police rid society of this fine upstanding citizen, who btw did 18 months for robbery (the fact that it was only 18 months is a strong indicator that he plead guilty to the charge)

I am interested to know the history of black people in the rockaways. Are they new immigrants or from the south of the U.S?

"Leaner Cannon, the mother of Michel, said her son's friend only carried the gun for self-defense."

That's not what the linked article says. She's quoted there as saying that if he had a gun, it must have been for his own protection. Your wording implies that he was known to carry a gun, which isn't at all implied in her real statement.

Also, according to the article her name is Arleaner, not Leaner.

ouch that hurts...

geocoins

Stop with the movies and TV. People don't spurt blood and drop when they get shot. There is often now way to tell if they were even hit. Reality, try it. I'm sure an internet search could find some handgun shooting videos.

PS: NYC Firemen put way to much water on fires to put them out, they use more gallons than needed and often get water on people and houses that have nothing to do with the fire. Why don't they just walk in, find the source and dump a bucket on it? (same thinking as many posters)

Make that no.

I wouldn't ever defend a teenager with gun but why the smug Sharpton comments. You witty internet spectators really believe black people or every other non-Caucasian race don't need leaders to speak up when bullshit happens. "You people" will never understand racism although you think you know everything. It's awful that this misguided sucker put the lives of others and himself in danger. Act like a life was lost.

Al Sharpton is a charlatan, not a leader. The sooner you realize this, the better off you will be (and I mean YOU, not "you people", as many intelligent black people already see through his little charade).

the most entertaining part of gothamist is the comments section.

They really do give YouTube a run for the money.

Wow, cup killed that guy just becouse he pointed a gun at them? For that he had to shoot him 11 times? Wow! It looks like that cup was in real panic or he have to change his medicaments.

There were four cops who fired a total of 11 shots. How many rounds were fired by each hasn't been reported.

I mean COP, not CUP, sorry for mispelling. :)

Oh, is that how you spell "medicaments"?

Taken yours?

we have discussed this before. this is nothing new. another example of urban natural selection. it's one less sub-human piece of shit off the street. alive or not.

To prove that they're not racists, all cops have been ordered to let anyone just shoot at them.

"Pointed a gun at them." End of story.

Even if he was carrying a concealed gun: End of story.

Lesson: Don't carry a gun, or point it at a cop.

No witnesses (other than NYPD) and no video? I guess we have to take the officers word for it that he pointed a gun at them. Remember, just because a gun is found at the scene does not necessarily mean it was the perps gun.

It's 2009, gun mounted video cameras are available and should be issued to the department.

Listen, you shouldn't have an illegal handgun in the first place. Second, you should never point it at cops.

If you do 1 and 2, then it's very difficult to have much sympathy, whoever you are.

Suicide by cop. Good job, kid.

The Kid had an arrest sheet a mile long was carrying an illegal 9mm pistol, runs away from cops while being questioned, aims at cops with a loaded weapon...any other questions here???? Oh - I'm fairly certain that Sharpton has already reviewed this case and has decided that there is no poltical "mileage" he can get from it so we won't be hearing from him.

nypd kills again

cool. Now i dont have to see his moronic twitter trending topic replies.

A nasty result from The War On Drugs is hyper-armed law enforcement.

The drug profits armed criminals to the teeth and the cops had to replace the old manual 38 caliber with automatics. They just have to squeeze the trigger and the bullets will come out fast and furious.

That's why gun battles with cops result in hundreds of bullets being fired.

All police hand guns are semi auto meaning you have to squeeze the trigger for each shot.

Not according the the cops who showed me their weapons in the stationhouse. The Glocks will keep firing if the trigger is squeezed.

(Sorry, no interesting story why I'm in the stationhouse.)

"Not according the the cops who showed me their weapons in the stationhouse. The Glocks will keep firing if the trigger is squeezed."

Uh... no. They won't.

Any handgun carried by NYPD, on duty or off, is required to be "dual action only" with a 12-pound pull. The Glock is a bit non-standard in that it uses a spring-loaded striker instead of a hammer but its so-called "safe action" achieves the same result: each pull of the trigger requires the same amount of force.

Some people don't like that because it means you can't fire as many rounds as quickly as you can with a more common "single action/double action" handgun where the first round might take a 12-pound pull but the gun "cocks" when a round is fired and subsequent shots need only a six-pound pull. NYPD position is that the consistency in the trigger pull for every round improves accuracy even if it does mean a tradeoff in that the gun can't fire as many rounds as quickly.

Anyway, in short either they were lying to you or you are to us.

Cops lied to me? Damn!

Easy to put on and take off.

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/GlockConvSw.pdf

maybe not.

http://www.glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=795917

You're lying.

Standard issue is the Glock 19, SIG p226, or Smith & Wesson 5946. All semi autos.

Sorry, you lose.

Every time to cops use any force for situations like this (guns pointed at them) the vacuum conspiracy theorists coming crawling out from every nook and cranny.

You people live in a sickening vacuum. Is it really easier for you to believe that all cops are bad? That there's always a cover up? A conspiracy? It's pathetic.

Undercover or not, the likely hood of their badges hanging around their necks in open view is very high. I saw, this past Friday in Turtle Bay, six undercover cops arrest a drunken guy for urinating on the street. The kid resisted and the cops used force to restrain him—it's their job.

Should we expect the police to baby every criminal so they're comfortable? Should we expect the police to wait around (all of this in split seconds) to assess the situation when a gun is pointed at them, "Hey should we shoot him?" Well, I dunno, he does have weapon pointed at us." "Hmmm... Maybe if we ask nicely wity sugar on top he'll comply." Bottom line: shoot when a gun is pointed at you.

As for his idiot mother, a gun for protection? Are you kidding? That's your defense? This is the problem, parents and community not taking a shred of responsibility for personal actions—accountability!!!!

edEX...I don't disagree with anything you said. My points are only related to getting the whole story before coming to the conclusion that what is reported is accurate. When this story first broke we had very little info and most of the responses were all in praise of the cops and extremely disparaging of the kid.

I freely admit that I have a great distrust in both our media and our police force. And while I recognize that most police officers act with bravery and are performing a great service for our communities, there are many officers who abuse their power and act in questionable (if not overtly racist) ways. It is worth noting that while there are predictable responses like mine, there are also responses like the numerous above who are just as quick to embrace the actions of the cops without even entertaining another perspective.

@farleft:

There are over 35,000 uniformed and undercover officers in the NYPD, this does not include 15,000 civilians. While I agree we can't draw any conclusions (which I didn't do in my piece above, I was making a blanket statement about guns being pointed at cops and protocol) until the facts are laid out, and until any hearing, we will know very little of this incident since I'm sure this entire event is under investigation. Investigations tend to not allow too much vital information out to the public.

A small fraction of cops are bad eggs. Do we "hate" all cops because of this? I surely do not. Are all uniformed and undercover cops racist jerks looking to shoot any person of color? Very doubtful—I'd say less than 3% are true assholes (until provoked which many people do and then call them assholes.) The bottom line is, the kid was illegally armed (his mother confirmed that) and he was allegedly pointing a gun at four armed police officers.

What bothers me most, are the idiotic people who live in these conspiracy vacuum's. Everything to them is a cover up—"it's the only logical answer." It's a pathetic way to lead your life.

Anytime a shooting comes down to he said/cops said...ALWAYS, ALWAYS assume the cops are lying. Especially these NYPD pigs.

There were four officers; are they supposed to consult with each other before firing so that "excessive" force is not used ? I'm not an officer but if somebody turned and faced me with a gun, I'm firing.

It's 11:30 at night. It's dark and you're chasing a guy who just pointed a gun at you. Good luck taking your time preparing for the perfect shot and hoping it'll be enough to keep him from firing even when he's down. This isn't a shooting range with paper targets that won't kill you.

Meant for poetofsorts at [14]. MovableType sucks big time.

Enter Al Sharpton. Unless he's all tied up with Vada and the grandmother that were shot. Oh, but he's not. Not sensational enough for the Sharpton's self serving media machine.

Sharpton doesn't care about Vada. She wasn't shot by a white guy.

11 times? Jesus...I think once in the leg would have been fine. I also don't undertsand how they got him in the back if he was pointing the gun at them?

Yep 11, the other three shots missed. These cops should be suspended- to get more training... up their accuracy.

LET ME SEE YOUR JAZZ HANDS

Actually, the 3 missed shots were the ones fired by the cop who was aiming for his legs in the fashion that various dumbasses here think possible.

you can still shoot a gun if you're shot in the leg. They shot him in the chest, which is where they're taught to shoot, because that will disarm him so he can't shoot them.

Okay i understand shooting to disarm...but 11 times to me just seems unneccesary unless he was firing back then I'd understand...

He was shot in the chest...so that could have easily sent him spinning, causing the other bullets to hit him in the back. Not saying that's what happened, but that's one way it could have happened.

All jobs, civlian and military, that require handguns involve training. They train you to aim for the large part of the body, the chest. These center mass shots are devastating and beyond tearing flesh and shattering bone the impact of the bullet can knock you over or spins you around. I believe the physics of it are that the bullets kinetic energy is suddenly absorbed by the body and somethign needs to happen.

Hitting a leg or arm is too hard. Bottom line guns are for killing. So when you pull it out, point and pull you need to be sure you a ready for the results.

As for the number of shots, I agree. Trigger dicipline is always an issue, where did the 3 bullets that missed go. Stray rounds are in the news. But 14 rounds can be fired from one semi-auto pistol in seconds. So judgement aside, the mechanics of the modern handgun make it very easy to put a bullet or bullets in the air. I haven't seen how many cops fired, but if more than one cop was shooting the shots could have all been fired in less that 1 second.

You people are so quick to judge this kid. They were plainclothes police officers in an unmarked car chasing after him. You don't even know WHAT he was confronted about. Why was he even stopped? And they claim he pointed the gun at them but he was actually shot in the back 3 times. How do you not read this and think that maybe, just maybe, the cops are covering up to save their own asses?

Some people on this board are so quick to throw their support behind cops, as if they never use excessive force or fatal mistakes. At least wait until all facts and evidence of the incident gets revealed before acting as judge and jury.

The kid's a felon, that's why. There's a 15 yr old girl in a coma from a stray bullet because of a moron like this kid. I hate seeing "they should have just shot him in the leg" because a) that's an impossibly hard shot for anyone b) a handgun is a serious threat to everyone around and unfortunately cops only have mere moments to asses the situation.

I'm not saying there isn't a cover-up, I'm just not villifying the cops and making some armed punk a victim. Not yet.

Far Left:

I was hassled in Fascist countries by Fascist cops and in Communist countries by Communist cops.

The FarRight cops treated me better than the FarLeft cops did.

Not for nothing.

anecdotes: proving nothing since...ever

But the other kids didn't run, and here's a surprise, they didn't have guns either.

read: he ran away from cops who tried to question him for being in a park after hours.

any other questions?

Oh ok. Thanks for explaining. Now that I know the terrible offense he committed I think maybe they should've mutilated his ass after they killed him. Teach him a lesson. Ya know?

take it one sentence at a time big guy.

left to right, up to down.

concentrate and don't rush it.

pop a tylenol for any headaches.

Yep.

As I said before: it is really hard to demonize police who shoot people pointing guns at them. This isn't a wallet, or anything crazy-- kid pointed a gun at cops.

Nice shooting guys.

JUST IN!!!

On NY1 a neighbor described him as a 'good boy'.

if you believe the cop's side of the story you're a dope

Oh, so you saw it all go down, then? Please, tell us what really happened.

Why won't people leave honor students alone?!?

This is seriously going to disrupt Reverend Al's planned Thanksgiving week festivities.

20 shootings like this in one day can't keep fat Al away from all that ham.

Maybe they should have shot the gun out of his hand like the Lone Ranger. It can't be that hard to do -- even Barnaby Jones on TV could do it.

You point a gun at a cop and you die. It's as simple as that, and there's no reason it shouldn't be that way.

in before ignorant stereotype comment.

well it takes a dumb dumb to be dumb enough to live up to the stereotypes.

an 18 yr old w/ loaded hand gun is in no way innocent. why does he need a gun? Especially if he's "not that type of kid"?

Police were excessive but the kid was dumb enough to pull the gun out at cops. he should have just put his hands up and dealt w/ the gun possession charges.

sorry shaprton can't win this argument.

How were the police excessive with a gun pointed at them? Please explain this one to us all.

they could have aimed for his legs to stop him from running, not shoot him to death.

exactly! even better, they should have shot it out of his hand. I saw that in a movie.

"they could have aimed for his legs to stop him from running, not shoot him to death. "

ROFLMAO

How about just shooting his trigger finger? That's what Pecos Bill would have done.

Of course, we're talking about reality here, not a TV show or a movie. When you're shooting at someone who's aiming a gun at you, you're shooting for the center of body mass in an attempt to STOP them- not stop them from running. If you ever actually held a gun or- God forbid- fired one, you'd know that the police don't aim for legs, arms, guns, or even trigger fingers.

All I know is. If a cop told me to drop a gun, I would. He didnt, case closed!

Yeah..I am sure the cops are going to stop and think about where to shoot as a gun is pointed directly at them..Come on.

Aiming at the legs only happens on TV, not the real world...

I'm pretty sure at that point it wasn't to stop him from running. It's disarm the threat to the officers who are being aimed at. I don't think it's excessive if the assailante had a loaded handgun pointed at the officers.

Another kind, gentle, bright kid who just happened to be walking around with a loaded 9mm and suffered a predictable fate when he pointed gun at officers and refused to drop the weapon.