Posted on 06/07/2005 2:14:14 AM PDT by Pharmboy
A surveillance video shows that the partner of a police officer who was shot three times during a car stop last week in Brooklyn ran away and, for several minutes, failed to help the wounded officer, a police official said yesterday.
The actions of the partner, Officer Gilberto T. Marrero, are under investigation by the Police Department's Firearms Discharge Review Board as part of its routine inquiry into the shooting, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is still under way.
Officer Marrero, a 12-year veteran, could face dismissal if the board concludes that he did flee while his partner was under fire and the department brings charges against him for dereliction of duty, the official said.
The wounded officer, Patrick Caprice, 42, was saved by his bulletproof vest when the gunman, armed with a .45-caliber pistol, fired at him five times, striking him three times in the vest, the police said. A bullet fragment from one of those rounds slipped beneath the protective fabric and pierced his small intestine, requiring surgery. A family friend said he remains hospitalized, but expects to be released on Thursday.
A surveillance camera mounted on the side of a housing development near the corner of Dumont Avenue and Chester Street captured much of the shooting and its aftermath.
In the ranks of the department, the charge that a police officer deserted a partner under fire is among the most serious accusations that can be leveled. But several officials could not recall a case in which an officer's questionable behavior was caught on video.
"As soon as the shots are fired, he's running down the block," the official said. "There was an opportunity to take action and he failed to take it."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Hope you have better partners than this guy...
There's almost nothing he can ever do to make up for those moments of cowardice. If the video is as described, he's finished as a cop.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/316676p-270866c.html
some more details from NY Daily News
I would hope training duty and loyalty would instill a different reaction, but at the same time somehow I can't bring myself to blame him as a human being too much for fleeing possible death in sudden fight-or-flight panic. We all know how we'd like to react, but how do we know what we'd really exactly do if life & death is imposed in 3 seconds? We might not respond as we would given more time, presence of mind, and consideration.
Frofessionally he shouldn't be a beat cop anymore because no cop should have to be his partner with the likelihood it would happen again.
In the video replay 45 minutes later it was a Nebraska Cornhuskers RED sweatshirt. I grew up in Nebraska.
Fight or flight. Crap or go color blind. I feel sorry for this guy. He found out something about himself he really didn't want to know.
Sure, we never know how we'll react, but this was a trained LEO.
I'm glad you brought that up. They say you fight like you train, which I've found out is true. I wonder what his training record has to say, or if it is even up to date.
"Marrero, who has been out sick since the shooting, was not reachable for comment."
Who wants to bet that sickness involves a bit of alcohol poisoning?
I wonder if the runaway partner is a member of the Kerry family..........
The cop getting shot, the partner being ridiculed, the target of the police action killing himself, are all small prices to pay to keep the WOD rolling. Follow the money and see how much goes into the pockets of the LEO's.
Maybe I'm just a nut, but I cant find the part of the Constitution where the people gave up the right to treat their own health, without the permission of a government agent. For this is the essence of the WOD. I mistakenly thought power that was not specifically granted to the government was reserved to the individual.
What a guy!!! I would hope Officer Caprice gets more attention than his cowardly partner, but either way, this is destined to be a Law & Order script!
No one will EVER trust him again.
Not even himself, probably.
My supervisor would have pulled out a knife and finnished me off. (figuratively speaking)
Weighed and found wanting.
The way it sounds, he could have taken cover behind the vehicle and fired his weapon at the perp instead of just running for cover.
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