New York City police officer shot while resting in car between shifts

PTI, Jan 2, 2022, 10:32 AM IST

ANew York City police officer was shot Saturday while sleeping in his personal vehicle in a police parking lot between shifts but is expected to fully recover, authorities said.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, sworn in just hours earlier, said the officer has a fractured skull and is undergoing treatment at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital.

She said the shooting occurred around 6:15 a.m. in the parking lot of a precinct house in East Harlem when the officer was awakened by the sound of glass shattering in his car and felt pain in the left side of his head. The officer got out of his vehicle and was aided by a sergeant who saw blood coming from his head, Sewell said.

She said the officer was rushed to the hospital, where he was treated for a fractured skull as bullet fragments were removed from his wound.

Officials did not say whether they believe the officer, whom they identified only as a seven-year member of the force, was targeted or hit by stray gunfire. He was sleeping in his vehicle because precinct bunks were full, officials said.

Mayor Eric Adams, who joined a news conference outside the hospital, said a hunt was underway for the person who fired the shot.

Adams, who also was sworn in earlier Saturday, said he wanted to send a message that “this is not going to be a city of violence.” Sewell said the officer had worked a full shift Friday in Central Park and was resting before starting another shift at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

She said she “could not be more pleased that he is recovering.”