Posted on 03/16/2011 11:45:39 AM PDT by neverdem
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A wake for Nassau County Police Officer Geoffrey Breitkopf was scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the Selden Fire Department where he volunteered.
WCBSÂ 880 Long Island Bureau Chief Mike Xirinachs on the memorial fund
Breitkopf, 40, was killed last weekend by friendly fire after responding to a call for backup. He was in plainclothes and carrying a rifle when he arrived at the chaotic scene in Massapequa Park.
Minutes earlier, officers had fatally shot Anthony Digeronimo, who allegedly was threatening people with knives before lunging at police.
Nassau County’s police union said the shooting of Breitkopf may have been instigated by a retired NYPD officer.
RELATED: L.I. Suspect’s Father Says Death Of Son & Officer Breitkopf Was Preventable | Nassau PBA President: Civilian Shouting ‘Gun’ Led To Friendly Fire Shooting Death | Nassau Police ‘Not Prepared To Say’ What Led To Shooting Death Of Officer | Nassau County Cop Fatally Shot In Massapequa Park
Neighbors, including Theresa Kelly who called 911, said she remembers the man who shouted “he’s got a gun” when Breitkopf and other special operations officers arrived at the scene.
Kelly said the man was “shouting things, running around, ordering people around.”
On Tuesday, David Digeronimo, the suspect’s father, spoke to CBS 2′s Jennifer McLogan. Digeronimo said his son’s death was preventable.
When asked if a taser should have been used, the suspect’s father replied “anything except killing the little boy in front of me” would have been better.
The elder Digeronimo said he had asked police “to put the guns away” and not to hurt his son. He said his family was also saddened about the shooting of Officer Breitkopf.
The MTA police and Nassau County Police said a full scale investigation would continue.
The chaos of the final moments was also caught on tape:
Officer 1: “The person has knives hanging from his clothing. He’s walking east on Front Street.”
Officer 2: “The subject just went into residence.”
Officer 3: “Be advised. The subject with a knife and threatening other witnesses.”
Special Operations Officer: “Shots fired. Forthwith on a bus.”
Dispatcher: “10-4 we’re getting an ambulance.”
(Four minutes after the shooting of Digeronimo)
Special Operations Officer: “17 to headquaters. MOS (member of the service) shot in the face!”
Special Operations Officer: “Make sure that they have cars lined up, ready to go to the hospital!”
2nd Special Operations Officer: “Headquarters, do you understand that?”
A memorial fund has been set up in officer Breitkopf’s name. Checks can be sent to the Nassau County PBA at 89 East Jericho Turnpike, Mineola, NY 11501.
“Now you have a single mom with two very young boys – six and three – who are not going to have their father providing for them anymore,” says police union president James Carver.
Carver reminds us not to forget the family, saying, “That’s what this is all about, making sure the family is taken care of going into the future.”
Pardon all those oddball ‘A’s scattered in the text. I should have excerpted the story.
I buy the shooting of the suspect just like I buy the shooting of the cops. The cops were just blowing people away for no good reason.
Of course, if it were a mere citizen then instead they'd be laughing about how the "blew the scumball away" and "got rid of another Goblin."
The real problem here is the way that cops are being trained, that plus the fact that they face almost no discipline for shooting unarmed citizens makes them a danger not only to ordinary people but to cops as well. Look what it takes to actually have a cop charged with a crime when they shoot some unarmed guy, the BART cop in Oakland only got two years for shooting a guy that was handcuffed and laying face down in the back. Other instances like the one in Seattle where a cop charged out of his car and shoot some guy walking down the street while whittling (can’t have people using knives in public you know) or the guy in Long Beach that was gunned down because he was in his own fenced yard, drunk and playing with a water hose spray gun. Both determined to be “good shoots” by the friends of the cops that murdered these two guys. Or how about the Las Vegas Costco shooting? nuff said.
That would be too much like thinking. I'm afraid law enforcement has become so militarized, that the vast majority just react. They don't even bother to check for the correct address when they do drug raids with dynamic entries. If an innocent person or animal gets shot, it's tough nuggies!
Not if it was a mere citizen who didn't see the badge on the chain and shot out of fear for his life. That mere citizen would get pilloried, if he lived that long.
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