Posted on 01/03/2004 5:26:08 AM PST by Wolfie
Cop's bullet hit bystander
Albany -- Police say one of two officers firing at moving car shot David Scaringe, 24
An errant bullet that killed a young engineer as he walked along Lark Street came from the gun of one of two police officers who opened fire on an unarmed Delmar man as he allegedly backed his car along a sidewalk to elude arrest.
The slaying of 24-year-old David R.A. Scaringe, whose home was less than 50 yards from the busy intersection where he collapsed and died, has triggered an intensive internal investigation into whether the officers were justified in firing their guns at a moving car.
"There's an awful lot of work that has to be done," said Police Chief Robert Wolfgang, who met with Scaringe's mother when her son was pronounced dead late Wednesday at Albany Medical Center Hospital. "It would be preliminary and it would be wrong for me to say at this time that it was justified."
Still, Wolfgang said the investigation so far indicates that Officers Joseph Gerace and William Bonanni thought their lives were in danger when Daniel Reed, 32, allegedly backed his car toward them after being boxed in on a State Street sidewalk during a pursuit involving several officers.
Gerace fired seven shots from his department-issued, semiautomatic .40-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, while Bonanni fired once, Wolfgang said. An eyewitness had told police she thought Reed fired at officers, but Wolfgang said that was unfounded.
Both officers have been taken off patrol duties and will handle administrative tasks until the investigation is complete, authorities said. Gerace joined the force 10 years ago; Bonanni joined in 1992 but was suspended for nearly four years after he was accused of beating a college student in 1997.
The bullet that killed Scaringe, who was struck in the chest as he walked northbound on Lark Street, was taken from his body and sent to a State Police lab where it will be matched with the handgun that fired it. Right now, police said it's unclear which officer killed Scaringe.
Another bullet, or possibly a fragment from a ricochet, grazed 26-year-old Shawn Brozowski in the leg. He was sweeping the sidewalk in front of McGuire's Restaurant at Lark and State streets when the melee unfolded.
"I shouldn't even have gone to the hospital," he said Thursday, referring to the bruise on his leg. "It could've been a lot worse. I could not be walking."
Like Scaringe, Brozowski lives on State Street a few doors away from Lark Street. He declined to discuss the details of the shooting. Instead, he wanted to focus on planning a candlelight vigil for Scaringe, whom he didn't know. Brozowski and his wife, Jodi, laid a wreath at the corner where Scaringe was shot, and he dropped rose petals on the spot where Scaringe collapsed after stumbling across the intersection and into the arms of the officers who shot him.
The incident began a few blocks away about 4 p.m. Wednesday when Officer Peter Noonan stopped Reed's car because he was allegedly driving erratically. Noonan began checking out Reed's car, which police said had one license plate that didn't belong on the vehicle and another that had been reported stolen. But Reed suddenly took off, and the officer chased him in his cruiser as other officers converged on the Center Square neighborhood.
Wolfgang said a supervisor was monitoring the chase over a police radio. City police occasionally abandon car chases if the pursuit begins to endanger the public. In this case, there was no order to stop the pursuit.
Reed's car was trapped momentarily at Lark and State streets, but as Gerace, Bonanni and Officer Jan Mika got out of their cruisers, Reed steered his car onto a sidewalk and tried to drive west along State Street away from Lark Street. He went only a short distance before his path was blocked by a large, concrete stoop, a street light and parked cars, police said.
Gerace was running toward the car along the sidewalk when Reed allegedly slammed the car in reverse and gunned the engine, backing down the sidewalk. Gerace pulled his gun and fired a volley of shots before jumping out of the way. When Reed passed him, Gerace fired more shots, and Bonanni, who was standing near the middle of the intersection, also fired a single shot, Wolfgang said.
"There are occasions when officers are entitled to shoot at someone in a moving vehicle," Wolfgang said, adding that some of the bullets hit the car.
Scaringe was walking northbound on the west side of Lark Street. After he was hit, he opened his jacket to see the wound and walked across the intersection before falling to the ground.
"It's certainly a sad night for the Scaringe family, and our hearts go out to them," Wolfgang said. "This investigation will continue."
The Albany County district attorney's office is monitoring the investigation and will present the case to a grand jury. Scaringe's death is labeled a homicide and authorities said a grand jury will decide a number of issues, including whether the shooting was accidental, justified or negligent.
Scaringe's family has retained the law firm of Martin, Harding and Mazotti. Partner Paul Harding had no comment Thursday but said he would discuss the case Monday.
The New Year's Eve incident took place eight days after an Albany police officer, Lt. John Finn, was critically wounded in a shootout with a robbery suspect. Finn remains hospitalized at Albany Med.
While authorities said Gerace has a clean work record, Bonanni has had difficulties on the job. In October 1997 he was involved in an off-duty bar fight that evolved into an intensive criminal and administrative investigation. An Albany County jury acquitted Bonanni and another officer in March 1999 of beating former College of Saint Rose student Jermaine Henderson while he was handcuffed in a police garage.
However, the city paid Henderson $60,000 to settle a lawsuit he filed over the incident, and the department changed its booking procedures, including installing video cameras in the garage where Henderson said he was beaten.
Bonanni was suspended from the department, but an independent arbitrator in September 2000 ruled that the department had failed to produce enough evidence to show that he did anything wrong, and he was returned to patrol duties.
Wolfgang said Bonanni and Gerace have both been given access to counseling.
"They, as you can imagine, were very shaken up last night," Wolfgang said. "They may need some time for their own welfare ... so they can work their way through this."
Reed allegedly drove away after the shooting and abandoned his Toyota Camry at State Street and Broadway. He was arrested at his Delmar home on Woodmont Drive about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday by city detectives and Bethlehem police, who tracked him through the car's registration.
Reed was arraigned in City Court on Thursday on two felony counts of reckless endangerment. Judge John C. Egan Jr. ordered him held without bail. He told police he is employed as a salesman with Vanderzee Financial and Insurance in Clifton Park.
Wolfgang said police are unsure why Reed fled the traffic stop. His driving record includes convictions for multiple offenses, including driving while intoxicated, running a stop sign and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Authorities said blood taken from Reed will be tested for drugs and alcohol.
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Yeah, when their lives are in danger by the perp. I had to take a weapons safety course to qualify with the service revolver every year. One thing that is stressed is that you don't pull out your weapon unless you plan to use it. Another is you don't use your weapon in an unsafe situation, especially where civilians may be injured. And finally, you don't fire your weapon without being certain where those bullets are going. These guys were wrong in firing at a moving vehicle if there was no danger to themselves. I usually find myself siding with the police officers, but in this case...I just can't.
Stay Safe wear kevlar....
They don't need as much training since if they screw up, they have the FOP and their lawyers to protect them.
There is almost zero risk of jail time or loss of personal assets.
The worst thing that generally happens is reassignment to a desk job, or they get fired, and have a good chance of hiring on with another agency.
On the other hand, if Joe Q. Citizen had behaved in a similar manner, he would be facing felony manslaughter charges, along with various firearm charges.
Welcome to the emerging Amerikan police state.
Wouldn't have made a difference in this case, since they simply missed the target, instead of overpenetrating it.
Instead, maybe they need some of those "Sarah Brady safe guns", that are kept locked up somewhere, and out of reach.
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