Sandy MaloneBronx, NY – New York Police Department (NYPD) officials released bodycam video of the officer-involved shooting in September that left NYPD Officer Brian Mulkeen dead (video below).
Officer Mulkeen, a seven-year veteran of the department, was killed while on patrol with the Bronx Borough Anti-Crime Unit out of the 47th Precinct at about 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, according to NYPD Force Investigation Division Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney.
Chief Maloney said that Officer Mulkeen and his partners tried to stop two men near the Edenwald Houses apartment project and one of the men fled on foot.
Bodycam video from NYPD Officer Robert Wichers showed that he and Officer Mulkeen jumped out of their undercover patrol vehicle and chased the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Antonio Williams, the New York Post reported.
Officer Mulkeen did not activate his bodycam the night he was killed.
The video showed Officer Wichers and Mulkeen caught up with Williams down a path next to the public house project and the three men struggled.
The video showed Officer Mulkeen and Officer Wichers went to the ground with the suspect, struggling on the pavement as Officer Wichers repeatedly yelled warnings that Williams was reaching for Officer Mulkeen’s weapon.
“He’s reaching! He’s f–king reaching! He’s reaching for it!” Officer Wichers screamed in the video as he and Officer Mulkeen tried to subdue the suspect.
The bodycam video showed Officer Wichers repeatedly striking Williams as he tried to gain control of the suspect’s arm.
Three more officers arrived on the scene about 30 seconds into the struggle – an officer, a sergeant, and a detective, the New York Post reported.
Bodycam video showed that Officer Wichers suddenly appeared to jump up and away from the struggling suspect as gunfire erupted.
Chief Maloney said that Officer Mulkeen fired five rounds at the suspect, the New York Post reported.
All of the other officers at the scene also opened fire a split second later.
Chief Maloney said that Officer Wichers fired only one shot. So did Officer Mahon and Detective Beddows.
NYPD has not released the first names of the other officers involved in the incident, the New York Post reported.
The chief said Sergeant Valentino fired five shots.
Bodycam video showed that all of the officers except Officers Wichers and Mulkeen were firing into the melee from a distance of more than 25 feet.
Both Officer Mulkeen and the suspect were killed during the incident, the New York Post reported.
Police found Williams’ .32-caliber revolver at the scene with four live rounds but said that the gun had not been fired during the incident.
Investigators determined that Officer Mulkeen was killed by shots fired by other officers, the New York Post reported.
The chief said the Force Investigation Unit was still investigating the shooting.
“After the investigation is complete, the facts of this case will be presented to the First Deputy Commissioner’s use of force review board, where the evidence will be evaluated to determine if the force applied in this case was justified and consistent with department guidelines,” Chief Maloney explained.
Williams’ family has complained that police were “reckless” in their use of force and didn’t identify themselves as officers when they were chasing Williams the night he was killed, the New York Post reported.
“My brother was killed due to recklessness and unprofessionalism from the NYPD,” his brother, Justin Williams, said. “Two lives were lost and two lives will never be brought back.”
“I saw him standing there waiting for a cab, not bothering anybody,” Williams’ father, Shawn Williams, said after viewing the bodycam video.
“NYPD rolls up on him, he runs, they chase, and it ended as we all know … two lives lost unnecessarily,” Shawn Williams said.
Watch bodycam video of the incident here below: