Poorly written and contradicts itself. Were both hands on the wheel or was he reaching? Why would he reach for a drill? Guessing he was drunk and unsure of everything else.
There is a thematic inconsistency in this story, which makes me take none of it seriously. Earlier it said: "...was fired at when he cut off the police car near New York's LaGuardia Airport..."
Was it a "terrifying chase" or did he just cut them off and they took umbrage at the perceived slight?
I will assume that even if the car was an unmarked, they had lights that were used during the "terrifying chase". In any case, it sounds like the cops were jacked up on adrenaline after the chase, and the guy they shot reached for something in a bag when ordered to show his hands.
And why would he be reaching for an electric drill? Does that seem odd to anyone else?
“Second witness: An off-duty police officer and friend of Mr Polanco and Ms DeFerrari’s was riding in the back of the Army reservist’s car”
OK, that should clear up what really happened.
“Noel Polanco, 22, was fired at when he cut off the police car near New York’s LaGuardia Airport, after they shouted at him to put his hands up, a witness said.”
As written, this has the police (in an unmarked car) shouting at the driver of another car, apparently in motion, to “put his hands up” before the victim “cut off the police car” at which point he was shot.
This makes no sense whatsoever.
I wonder if the real story will ever come out. With the Reverend Al involved, one must wonder about the background/actions of the driver. Some accounts make the cop the bad guy, and others give one pause. All I know is that if a cop has his gun out and gives me an order, I’m following the instructions, right or wrong and will sort it out later - while still sucking air.
I always reach for my drill when a cop pulls me over. /s
Detective Hassam Hamdy -
Maybe it’s just me, but I’d be taking a second look at this guy for more than a couple reasons.
NY Slimes quote from Friday: “ 'We looked for a weapon, we didn’t find any; we found a drill,' he said in a news briefing at Police Headquarters. 'I’m not saying it played a role. I’m just saying we looked for a weapon. We did not find a weapon. The only thing we found was that drill.' ”
The same article says the drill was on the driver's side floor. No mention in that article of him reaching for the drill. I wonder if this Mail article was written by J.K. Rowling.
Guy shot himself. Cop said so. Case closed.
Was the detective in an unmarked car or one of the large rescue vehicles they drive? Was he in uniform? Detectives usually wear civilian clothes don't they? And why would someone who works in a department that has a Canine Unit, also functions as a Special Weapons and Tactical Unit (SWAT), and deals with hostage negotiations, be stopping someone for a traffic infraction? I'm not a cop hater, and worked in uniform in corrections for 25 years, so I'm well aware of the scumbags out there. I just have a problem with the fact that they bothered to stop the guy when people are always getting cut off in NY City traffic. I've driven there many times, and being cut off is a regular occurrence.
The guy has a drill in the seat next to him. He throws on the breaks and the drill slides onto the floorboard, possibly under the break pedal. He reaches down to move it because it is a hazard to have something sliding around under the break pedal.
Yes, it’s only Sunday, but this story is already a serious contender for CF of the Week.
Early reports had the deceased with his hands on the steering wheel..