Last night, three police officers were hit by bullet fragments when, WABC 7 reports, "they tried to thwart an attack by a pit bull terrier in a public housing complex on the Upper East Side." The pit bull's owner, who police say deliberately set the dogs on the cops, was also hit by a fragment. NYPD spokesman Deputy Commissioner Paul Brown said, "The bullets fragmented and shattered. They were in the hallway, a very confined space."
The cops were responding to a call about an assault at the First Avenue building between 93rd and 94th Streets. According to the Daily News, "When they got to the 11th floor of the 20-story building and knocked on the door of the apartment in question, a woman opened it and the snarling pit bull leaped out. All six cops went for their guns while trying to fend the dog off with their hands and feet, police said."
The cops fired at the dog, which was killed, while the other people in the apartment "barricaded themselves inside for about a half-hour" before later surrendering. The dog's owner Milagros Martinez was hit in the hand, while one cop was hit below the eye, another in the hand, and another hit on the nose by bullet fragments. Martinez may be charged today. Neighbors were not surprised, with one resident telling the Post, "That apartment has always been trouble. There's something always going on over there." And a young teen said of one of cops, "He's real nice. He always works on the block and he always has something nice to say."
