Two NYPD officers were shot in Brooklyn, New York, when a suspect with a long rap sheet for violent crimes grabbed one of their guns and opened fire on them as they were trying to arrest him for allegedly assaulting his mother.
One officer was shot in the leg while the other was struck in the hand during the struggle, which ended when one officer shot and struck the suspect, Melvin Butler, 39, at a Brownsville apartment building around 3:30 p.m., according to police.
The NYPD arrived on the scene after Butler's mother called the police to say her son was attacking her inside an apartment on Bergen Street.
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Officers told Butler he was under arrest, but Butler resisted, and he clashed with one of the officers. They both fell to the ground and at that point, Butler managed to wrestle the officer’s gun and then opened fire.
Two of the officers were shot before the NYPD shot and struck Butler multiple times, police said.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban said that the wounded officers were transferred to New York City Health + Hospitals Kings County, where they were being treated for their wounds and are expected to make full recoveries.
Butler is listed in critical but stable condition, Caban said at a press briefing at the hospital.
"Our officers are lucky to be alive at this hour," Caban said at a news conference at the hospital. "And I want to remind everyone that this was one of those so‑called routine jobs for patrol officers, which is to say there are never routine patrol jobs for our NYPD officers."
Police said that Butler is a repeat offender who served 15 years in prison for attempted murder in 2004. One eyewitness said that at one point, she heard Butler tell police he was not going back to jail.
"He has six prior arrests in New York City and one prior arrest in North Carolina," NYPD Detectives Chief Joseph Kenny said. "He has a history of resisting arrest and of domestic violence."
Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, also attended the press briefing.
"We had a very violent and dangerous person that has a long record of violence attempted to harm our police officers, but they responded accordingly," Adams said. "And I want to thank the men and women of the New York City Police Department for continuously displaying why we are considered to be New York City's Finest."
"This was a horrific incident that because of their actions, a dangerous person is apprehended and we have two officers that will be going home to their families."
Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, the force’s largest police union, thanked God that the officers made it out of the incident alive and then railed against the prevalence of crime in the Big Apple.
"But New Yorkers need to ask the question, why is this continuing to happen?" Hendry pondered. "Why are these vicious assaults on police officers happening day after day?"
"The assaults keep on going up. Why is that happening? Why does an individual, a repeat offender who's been arrested time and time again, feel like he can resist arrest, he can attack New York City police officers, he can shoot two New York City police officers?"
"All police officers know the answer to that question: because he thought nothing would happen to him, because he was emboldened, he thought nothing would happen to him. Our system is broken. At every step of the way our criminal justice system is broken."
