Posted on 08/29/2015 12:30:42 PM PDT by matt04
A man who was shot by an NYPD officer in a bungled attempt at a gun bust died Saturday morning.
Felix Kumi, 61, was hit by several rounds after an undercover cop missed his target and hit him instead.
The officer, who has not been named, was aiming for a suspect involved in the gun bust in Mount Vernon, Westchester County.
Alvin Smothers, 37, reportedly aimed a gun at the officer, who fired 11 rounds at him in response.
Three of the shots his Smothers, while at least two went astray and hit Kumi, who was standing behind him. Officers later found that Smothers' gun was a fake.
Both Kumi and Smothers were taken to Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx. Kumi was pronounced dead just after midnight, while Smothers is reportedly in a stable condition. The officer wasn't hurt.
According to the NYPD, the killer officer was trying to set up a suspected gun dealer in a months-long undercover operation.
Suspect Jeff Aristy, 28, contacted the officer with an offer of guns for sale, then drove him from the Bronx to Mount Vernon to carry out the deal, police said.
After Aristy parked his car, Smothers, the second suspect who was shot, allegedly got into the back seat and pointed the fake gun at the officer's head, demanding money.
...
In response to the sting-gone-wrong, Mount Vernon Police Commissioner Terrence Raynor said: 'Things went awry, and shots were fired.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
So, will they go after DiBlasio, like they did Rudy?
Only police should have guns.
So of 11 rounds fired, three hit the perp and wounded him and two killed a innocent person. Maybe some more range time is in order, and some training to not just empty the mag in the general direction of the perp.
I'd say more like 8 went astray.
I'm Ok with police having guns, it's the them having ammunition for the guns that worries me! When a trained police officer can't seem to make better decisions or have better aim than your average gangbanger.....................
What was Innocentbystander doing in NYC?
Some of the *older* FReepers may remember him.
Thought he was a left cost FReeper?
“Only police should have guns...”
As a ‘98’er, we should imply that ‘/s’ is self-evident?
“Only police should have guns and only on tv or movies should they shoot while in pursuit in a street situation.”
(I lost an ID too, two actually, though one was ‘involuntary’)
Innocent bystander, my ass... he was a collaborator.
“...hitting both the suspect and Kumi, a local man who happened to be in the area.”
On Saturday, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton released a statement expressing condolences to Kumi’s family.
“I wish to express my profound sorrow and sympathy to the family of Felix Kumi, an uninvolved bystander who was struck and killed by police gunfire during an undercover gun-buy operation last night,” the statement said. “Mr. Kumi was blameless, and this tragedy has tested and tried his family. I pray that they may find comfort in their hope of resurrection and awakening, and I tender the Department’s support and service in their grief.”
Cumi’s daughter, Rachel Kumi, told the Journal News her father was a bus driver for the Mount Vernon school district.
“He was kind and loving and concerned,” she said. “Very generous. If you ever needed anything, my father would never say no.”
Quite the fake gun, looks real enough to make me shoot back...if somebody pointed that thing at me I’d probably have to clean my britches...
I’m not sure what to think. On the one hand, it’s a bad idea to point even a fake gun at a cop, you have to know he’s going to shoot.
On the other hand, cops need to be better marksmen than that. That’s what firing ranges are for. I’m sure it’s difficult to see every little detail in a highly tense situation like that, but when in a shooting situation in public, it seems it would be prudent to try your best to avoid “collateral damage”...
Two shots should be sufficient. If I understand it correctly most cops are trained to always take 2 shots. Don’t depend on one to take anybody down. But making sure they hit the intended target should be a primary concern, especially on city streets. Firing a dozen shots willy nilly is just a bad idea...
sarc tags with me are often implied.
After all, the local prosecutor would not prosecute a peasant if he or she "accidentallly" shot someone to death...
LOL!
ok, got me.
Unfortunately experience teaches that comments of that nature are not beyond the realm of possibility here.
“... while at least two went astray and hit Kumi,...”
Where are the cries for “gun control”? Seems like some pretty poor “gun control” on the part of the “designated executioner”.
Hey, stuff happens. Especially when cops are involved. Best choice is not to interact with cops if you can help it.
The shooting was in Mount Vernon, just north of the Bronx, where my father was born.
Yes, /s.
I was first here too in 1998 or 1999.
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