NYPD officer released from hospital hours after Harlem gunfight with naked man

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/23/nypd-...l-hours-after-harlem-gunfight-with-naked-man/

NYPD officer released from hospital hours after Harlem gunfight with naked man
By Joe Marino and Natalie Musumeci
October 23, 2019 | 9:28am | Updated

The cop shot in his bulletproof vest during a violent confrontation with an armed, naked man inside a Harlem apartment building early Wednesday was released from the hospital just hours after the chaotic incident.

Less than six hours after the gunfight unfolded, the seven-year veteran officer, 34, was wheeled out of Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital with his family at his side and to the applause of throngs of fellow cops.

The officer, wearing green hospital scrubs and an NYPD windbreaker, was then escorted into a waiting NYPD vehicle where he waved to reporters.

“Terrific to be able to walk out our injured @NYPD32Pct brother from the hospital already, heading home to continue his recovery,” the Police Benevolent Association tweeted.

The officer was struck by gunfire in the building at Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 148th Street early Wednesday morning.

Police officers at the scene of a shooting where an NYPD officer was injured along with the suspect.Seth Gottfried

The cop was shot one time in the chest during the incident, but was spared serious injury by his protective vest. The suspect was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital.

He was one of eight uniformed officers from the 32nd Precinct to respond to a 911 harassment call made by a resident inside of 2785 Frederick Douglass Boulevard at around 1:50 a.m., authorities said.

The 911 caller stated that her neighbor, who sources said was the superintendent of the building, was harassing her, banging on doors of the seven-story building and breaking glass.

The injured officer leaves Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Hospital
Joe Marino


Police Commissioner James O’Neill said the officers “fanned out” to search the building’s second-floor hallway where the 34-year-old cop suddenly encountered the suspect, identified by sources as Victor Hernandez, 29, who was pointing a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at the officer.

“A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” O’Neill said, adding that the officer shouted for help as the struggle continued.

“The other officers discharged their firearms, striking the suspect several times ,” the city’s top cop said.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/23/harlem-cop-survives-brush-with-death-thanks-to-bulletproof-vest/

Harlem cop survives brush with death thanks to bulletproof vest
By Joe Marino, Tina Moore and Aaron Feis
October 23, 2019 | 10:26pm

A Harlem cop was shot in the chest during a struggle with the naked son of a fellow officer early Wednesday, but walked away thanks to his bulletproof vest, authorities said.

Christopher Wintermute was among eight cops who at 2 a.m. rushed to Frederick Douglass Boulevard near West 148th Street, where Victor Hernandez was banging on doors and shattering glass in the hallway of a building where he served as superintendent, officials and police sources said.

“As the officers fanned out to search the second-floor hallway, one officer suddenly encountered the suspect standing naked, pointing a 9mm semiautomatic handgun at the officer,” said Commissioner James O’Neill in a press briefing.
see also
Naked suspect fatally shot after NYPD officer hit in Harlem gunfight

As Wintermute, 34, yelled for help, Hernandez, 29, punched him in the face, O’Neill said.

“A violent struggle immediately began and shots were fired,” said the top cop.

When the guns fell silent, Hernandez was splayed out with wounds that would prove fatal, and a round had punched clear through Wintermute’s body-camera, but was stopped by his bulletproof vest, cops and sources said.

It remained unclear late Wednesday if that bullet had been fired by Hernandez or another cop. The NYPD has been rocked by two friendly-fire deaths this year.

Wintermute was rushed to Harlem Hospital for a precautionary check-up, but the only wounds were to his face, from Hernandez’s punches.

“Thank God, because of his vest, he is alive, he is well,” Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at the hospital.

Within hours, the seven-year veteran, who’s married to another cop he met in the Police Academy, left the hospital in a wheelchair to the resounding applause of fellow police officers.

But while Wintermute headed home, another cop went to the city Medical Examiner’s Office for the grim task of identifying Hernandez’s body: His mother, Maria Hernandez, a 19-year veteran of the force.

Sources said that Hernandez had “previous interactions” with the NYPD, including a pair of 2019 domestic-violence arrests, but it remained unclear what caused him to snap Wednesday morning.

“I don’t know if he was high … but he had that look in his eye, kind of wild,” said one tenant, who gave her name as Selena.

 

[The Bobster]

Graphic police bodycam video shows fatal NYPD shooting of naked Harlem man

https://nypost.com/2020/02/05/graph...hows-fatal-nypd-shooting-of-naked-harlem-man/

Graphic police bodycam video shows fatal NYPD shooting of naked Harlem man
By Craig McCarthy and Tina Moore
February 5, 2020 | 2:21pm | Updated

A 29-year-old man waited naked in the hallway of a housing complex in Harlem to ambush a cop — then begged two other officers to “shoot us” while he wrestled for the cop’s gun, a new series of graphic videos released Wednesday shows.

The fatal incident started just before 2 a.m. Oct. 23 when cops were called to 2785 Frederick Douglass Blvd. for an erratic man, later identified as Victor Hernandez, kicking and banging on doors on the second floor.

A pair of new body camera recordings from two of the responding officers and released by the NYPD on Wednesday captured most of the dramatic, early morning encounter.

Previously released CCTV video from the laundry room of the building shows Hernandez waiting for Officer Christopher Wintermute to come into his sights.

Hernandez fires off at least one shot at the cop, hitting him in the center of the bulletproof vest and destroying his bodyworn camera, the video shows.

Wintermute got off one shot as he fell to the floor, but it was unclear if his bullet hit Hernandez, according to the NYPD.

Hernandez then jumps onto Wintermute and tries to wrestle the officer’s service weapon away from him — while screaming, “Shoot us! Shoot us!,” video shows.

Moments later, the new video shows, Officers Michael Buliga and Whitney Martin come around the corner and fire 15 times at Hernandez from just feet away — hitting the 29-year-old “multiple times.”

As Hernandez was pleading with the cops to “Shoot us!,” Wintermute can be heard yelling, “Shoot him!,” the video shows.

Hernandez, who lived in the building, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Video from Wintermute’s body camera was not salvageable after the device was shot.

It was unclear how many times Hernandez was hit by NYPD gunfire.

Before his fatal interaction with police, Hernandez, who served as the building’s superintendent, killed his guinea pig, according to NYPD officials.
see also
Shot stopped by Harlem cop's bulletproof vest was not friendly fire: NYPD

Richard Esposito, NYPD deputy commissioner of public information, said the department was “very fortunate” there were no friendly-fire injuries in the close-quarters encounter.

“It’s fortunate that their fellow officer wasn’t shot,” Esposito said.

Only one shell casing from Hernandez’s 9mm gun was recovered, but officials believe three shots — two from Hernandez and one from Wintermute — could be heard on capture before the two other cops arrived.

Wintermute, a seven-year veteran of the force, was brought to Harlem Hospital but released within seven hours with only minor wounds to his face from the struggle with Hernandez.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2021/01/19/widow-of-slain-naked-gunman-files-wrongful-death-suit-against-nyc/

Widow of slain naked gunman files wrongful death suit against city, NYPD
By Priscilla DeGregory
January 19, 2021 | 3:47pm | Updated

The wife of a Harlem man who was fatally shot by cops in 2019 while naked and wielding a gun has filed a wrongful death suit against the city and two officers, new court papers show.

Jaimily Hernandez alleges that the Oct. 23, 2019, “shooting of [Victor] Hernandez was without justification,” according to her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit from Monday.

Cops were called to 2785 Frederick Douglas Blvd. — where Victor was a superintendent — and found him nude and holding a 9mm handgun in a second-floor hallway.

The 29-year-old allegedly rushed Officer Christopher Wintermute, punching him in the face, before he was shot down by two other cops. Wintermute was also shot in the chest but was largely unscathed because of the bulletproof vest he was wearing.

Police Officers Michael Buliga and Whitney Martin “intentionally shot Hernandez multiple times” and “failed to take reasonable steps to adequately assess the situation at the premises,” the court papers allege.

And afterward they “failed and refused to seek and obtain prompt and adequate medical care and treatment for Hernandez,” acting “with deliberate indifference to Hernandez’ medical needs,” the court documents claim.

Victor’s death “resulted in economic and other loss to his wife and children,” the suit alleges. ity:

Jaimily is seeking unspecified damages.

The NYPD, the city Law Department and Buliga all did not immediately return requests for comment. Martin could not be reached for comment.