Brooklyn Boro

Brooklyn officers’ deaths echo similar 1980s Case

December 22, 2014 By Charisma L. Troiano, Esq. Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Slain officer Edward Byrne was murdered in his patrol car in 1988. Two other officers were killed on Dec. 20 while sitting in their patrol car in Bedford-Stuyvesant.  Photo via 1988 NYPD Handout
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Ismaaiyl Brinsely’s deadly shootings of two NYPD officers on Saturday in Bed-Stuy comes at a particular time of strain and unease, recalling a similar crime more than two decades ago. 

“[Saturday’s] events evoked the terrible memory of the assassination of Police Officer Edward Byrne in 1988,” New York Public Advocate Letitia James said in a released statement. 

As previously reported by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Byrne was assassinated in Queens more than 20 years ago by a violent drug gang as he sat on patrol in a marked police car, guarding the home of a cooperating witness.

Four men — Scott Cobb, David McClary, Todd Scott and Phllip Copeland — were found guilty.  Each were sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars. 

“Police Officer Byrne’s death marked a turning point in our city’s history, and we agreed that the incredible level of violence had to stop. We came together as New Yorkers — both community and police — and now, 26 years later, New York is the safest big city in the world,” James said. 

The Byrne defendants were denied parole in November. 

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder condemned the shooting deaths of Officers Liu and Ramos as senseless and an “unspeakable act of barbarism.”

In a statement Saturday night, Holder called the attack “cowardly” and said it underscores the dangers that are routinely faced by those who protect and serve their fellow citizens.

“As we continue to investigate these senseless acts of violence against two of our city’s heroes, we pray for peace, support the men and women who bravely patrol our streets every day, and mourn for the loss of these two police officers who gave their lives to keep us safe,” Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson added. 

 

The suspect, 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley, wrote on an Instagram account: “I’m putting wings on pigs today. They take 1 of ours, let’s take 2 of theirs,” officials said. He used the hashtags “Shootthepolice,” “RIPErivGardner (sic)” and “RIPMikeBrown.”

Two city officials with direct knowledge of the case confirmed the posts to The Associated Press. The officials, a senior city official and a law enforcement official, were not authorized to speak publicly on the topic and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Police said Brinsley approached the passenger window of a marked police car and opened fire, striking Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in the head. The New York Police Department officers were on special patrol doing crime reduction work in Bedford-Stuyvesant.

Brinsley took off running as officers pursued him down to the Myrtle-Willoughby subway station, where he shot himself in the head. A silver handgun was recovered at the scene, Bratton said.

“This may be my final post,” Brinsley wrote in the Instagram post that included an image of a silver handgun. The post had more than 200 likes.

Click here for extended coverage of the NYPD shooting deaths.

-Additional reporting from the Associated Press

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