2 NYC officers dead in ambush shooting in cruiser

NEW YORK – The two New York City police officers who were ambushed and shot to death in their vehicle yesterday (Dec 20) were “quite simply, assassinated”, and the suspect had made Instagram posts that were very anti-police, the police commissioner said.

Police Commissioner William Bratton said the officers, Liu Wenjin and Raphael Ramos, were shot in the head without warning after the gunman approached the passenger window of a marked police car and opened fire.

The suspect, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, then ran inside a Brooklyn subway station and fatally shot himself in the head. Brinsley was black; the officers were Asian and Hispanic, police said.

Police Commissioner Bratton said the suspect shot and wounded his ex-girlfriend earlier yesterday in Baltimore and made posts from her Instagram account. “This may be my final post,” said one that included an image of a silver handgun.

Two officials told The Associated Press that the suspect posted about shooting two “pigs” in retaliation for the death of Eric Garner: “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs.” He used the hashtags Shootthepolice RIPErivGardner (sic) RIPMikeBrown. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

The shooting occurred hours later, around the time that Commissioner Bratton said that New York police were receiving a warning fax from Baltimore authorities.

The shooting took place in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood. Both officers were rushed to Woodhull Medical Center, where one was pronounced dead, police said. The second officer was later pronounced dead at the hospital, according to a senior city official and a law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the shooting. They were not authorised to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

US Attorney General Eric Holder called yesterday’s shooting deaths an “unspeakable act of barbarism”. President Barack Obama was briefed on the shooting, the White House said.

Police in New York are being criticised for their tactics following the recent chokehold death of Garner, an unarmed black man who was stopped by police on suspicion of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes. Amateur video captured an officer wrapping his arm around Garner’s neck and wrestling him to the ground. Garner was heard gasping, “I can’t breathe”, before he lost consciousness.

Demonstrators around the country have staged protests since a grand jury decided Dec 3 not to indict the officer in Garner’s death. The decision closely followed a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict a white officer in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old.

Commissoner Bratton said they were looking at whether the suspect had attended any rallies or demonstrations.

The Reverand Al Sharpton, a civil rights activist, said Garner’s family had no connection to the suspect and denounced the violence.

“Any use of the names of Eric Garner and Michael Brown in connection with any violence or killing of police, is reprehensible and against the pursuit of justice in both cases,” Rev Sharpton said.

A block from the shooting site, a line of about eight police officers stood with a German shepherd blocking the taped-off street. Streets were closed even to pedestrians for blocks around.

Mr Derrick Thompson, who lives nearby, said the shooting happened across from the Tompkins Houses public housing development.

“I was watching TV, and then I heard the helicopters,” Mr Thompson said. “I walked out, and all of a sudden _ this.”

President of the police officers union Patrick Lynch and Mr de Blasio have been locked in a public battle over treatment of officers following the grand jury’s decision. Just days ago, Mr Lynch suggested police officers sign a petition that demanded the mayor not attend their funerals should they die in the line of duty.

The last shooting death of a New York Police Department officer came in December 2011, after a report of a break-in at a Brooklyn apartment. He was shot in the face and killed by one of the suspects hiding in a side room when officers arrived. The triggerman, Lamont Pride, was convicted of murder and sentenced in 2013 to 45 years to life in prison.

Criminal records show Brinsley has a history of arrests on various charges in Georgia, including robbery, shoplifting, carrying a concealed weapon, disorderly conduct and obstruction of a law enforcement officer. Commissioner Bratton said his last known address was Georgia, but he had some ties in Brooklyn. AP