NYPD cops working a “crime reduction” assignment apparently did nothing as a man shot himself in the leg right in front of them.
The NYPD on Thursday suspended four officers caught on video failing to take action when a man fired off a gun, shooting himself in the leg, on a Harlem street corner.
The cops, identified by police sources as Officers Joshua Polo, Grifford Griffiths, Mohammed Uddin and Sterling Medina, were suspended without pay for the incident at the corner of 136th St. and Seventh Ave. on Monday night, an NYPD spokesman said.
Two of the cops were on foot patrol while the other two were in a patrol car, all as part of a “crime reduction” assignment. All four were paces away from a group of men drinking and gambling when a shot was fired.
Shocking surveillance video obtained by the Daily News shows the apparent flash of a muzzle, followed by the men scattering. One of them, later identified as Xavier Shaw, 32, shot himself in the leg and hobbled away, authorities said.
The pair of cops on foot patrol were leaning up against a building when the shooting unfolded in front of them. One eventually sauntered around the corner, turned around and returned to his partner but never appeared to investigate or render aid, the video shows.
During the chaos, a few of the men can be seen retrieving items from the ground. They left the gun in the middle of the sidewalk next to what appears to be a 50-foot trail of blood.
The other two cops, sitting in a double parked NYPD SUV, never got out and even moved their vehicle back so one of the people involved in the shooting could get into their car and drive away.
Police received a 911 call for shots fired but the cops on scene never reported the shooting on their radios, a police source said.
Body camera footage from the four officers reveals they heard a bang but didn’t know right off if it was a gunshot, sources said.
“One turned to the other and said something along the lines of, ‘What was that?’” a high-ranking police source said. “They thought it could have been a firecracker. Even when the people were coming back and picking up their phones they were trying to figure out, ‘What did we just hear?’”
The NYPD suspended the four cops within hours of the surveillance video surfacing.
“We have cops responding to shootings every day. We haven’t made this many gun arrests in 25 years as our officers go into dangerous situations, do their jobs and respond to shots fired,” the high ranking source said. “Seeing this kind of response on the street is a real anomaly. They didn’t engage as they were supposed to so we suspended them.”
The man who shot himself, 32-year-old Xavier Shaw, ended up taking himself to Harlem Hospital, sources said. Cops caught up with him on Wednesday and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Shaw’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Thursday.
All four suspended officers have been on the job for less than five years, a source said. None have any cases registered with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, according to city records.
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The NYPD on Thursday suspended four officers caught on video failing to take action when a man fired off a gun, shooting himself in the leg, on a Harlem street corner.
The cops, identified by police sources as Officers Joshua Polo, Grifford Griffiths, Mohammed Uddin and Sterling Medina, were suspended without pay for the incident at the corner of 136th St. and Seventh Ave. on Monday night, an NYPD spokesman said.
Two of the cops were on foot patrol while the other two were in a patrol car, all as part of a “crime reduction” assignment. All four were paces away from a group of men drinking and gambling when a shot was fired.
Shocking surveillance video obtained by the Daily News shows the apparent flash of a muzzle, followed by the men scattering. One of them, later identified as Xavier Shaw, 32, shot himself in the leg and hobbled away, authorities said.
The pair of cops on foot patrol were leaning up against a building when the shooting unfolded in front of them. One eventually sauntered around the corner, turned around and returned to his partner but never appeared to investigate or render aid, the video shows.
During the chaos, a few of the men can be seen retrieving items from the ground. They left the gun in the middle of the sidewalk next to what appears to be a 50-foot trail of blood.
The other two cops, sitting in a double parked NYPD SUV, never got out and even moved their vehicle back so one of the people involved in the shooting could get into their car and drive away.
Police received a 911 call for shots fired but the cops on scene never reported the shooting on their radios, a police source said.
Body camera footage from the four officers reveals they heard a bang but didn’t know right off if it was a gunshot, sources said.
“One turned to the other and said something along the lines of, ‘What was that?’” a high-ranking police source said. “They thought it could have been a firecracker. Even when the people were coming back and picking up their phones they were trying to figure out, ‘What did we just hear?’”
The NYPD suspended the four cops within hours of the surveillance video surfacing.
“We have cops responding to shootings every day. We haven’t made this many gun arrests in 25 years as our officers go into dangerous situations, do their jobs and respond to shots fired,” the high ranking source said. “Seeing this kind of response on the street is a real anomaly. They didn’t engage as they were supposed to so we suspended them.”
The man who shot himself, 32-year-old Xavier Shaw, ended up taking himself to Harlem Hospital, sources said. Cops caught up with him on Wednesday and charged him with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Shaw’s arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court was pending Thursday.
All four suspended officers have been on the job for less than five years, a source said. None have any cases registered with the Civilian Complaint Review Board, according to city records.
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protect and serve...when they feel like it
