Rookie NYPD Cop Who Shot Partners’ Killer Is Promoted To Detective

New York, NY – The rookie New York police officer who fatally shot the gunman who murdered two of his fellow officers was promoted to the rank of detective on Tuesday.

New York Police Department (NYPD) Detective Sumit Sulan, 27, was presented with his new detective shield by NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell during a brief ceremony at department headquarters Feb. 15, the New York Daily News reported.

“This morning, I had the honor of promoting Officer Sumit Sulan to the rank of detective,” Commissioner Sewell tweeted later that day. “Like Detectives [Wilbert] Mora & [Jason] Rivera, Sumit’s actions were heroic that fateful night. He was presented shield #332 — symbolizing three brothers from the @NYPD32Pct.”

Officer Rivera was gunned down in the line of duty on Jan. 21 by a career criminal who was on probation at the time.

His partner, 27-year-old Officer Mora, was also shot in the attack and died of his wounds on Jan. 25.

Officer Sulan, a probationary officer with less than a year on the department, returned fire at the suspect, hitting him in the head and chest, NBC News reported.

The suspect was pronounced dead on Jan. 24, according to the New York Post.

Commissioner Sewell posthumously promoted both slain officers to the rank of detective.

“There was a third officer there that night. He is Police Officer Sumit Sulan,” the commissioner said during the ceremony on Tuesday. “He responded with his two partners to what was supposed to be a routine call – a family dispute. It turned into a gun battle.”

This morning, I had the honor of promoting Officer Sumit Sulan to the rank of detective as I spoke to the @nycpolicefdtn. Like Detectives Mora & Rivera, Sumit’s actions were heroic that fateful night. He was presented shield #332 — symbolizing three brothers from the @NYPD32Pct. pic.twitter.com/naa56hahDb

— Commissioner Sewell (@NYPDPC) February 15, 2022

When he heard the gunman open fire, Officer Sulan rushed the suspect’s brother and mother away from the danger to protect them, the Commissioner Sewell noted.

He then immediately ran towards the gunfire.

The shooter had already fatally wounded his partners and was preparing to open fire yet again when Officer Sulan shot him, ending the attack, according to the commissioner.

“Today, I have the honor of promoting Police Officer Sumit Sulan to the rank of detective,” she said. “Like his partners, he is an example that police officers are ordinary people called upon to do extraordinary things, and they often do, risking everything.”

Officer Sulan’s actions likely saved the lives of other officers who were responding to the scene, Commissioner Sewell added.

The young officer is a native of India who emigrated to the U.S. approximately 15 years ago, the New York Post reported.

He began serving the NYPD in April of 2021 and had been at the 32nd Precinct in Harlem for just two months when he and his fellow officers responded to the domestic disturbance.