Rikers correction officer shoots girlfriend, kills cop, self

  SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- A local police officer responding to a domestic violence call was fatally shot Monday by a New York City correction officer who critically wounded his former girlfriend before taking his own life, authorities said.

Officer Kevin Ambrose went to the woman's Springfield apartment around 1 p.m. after she called 911 to say her former boyfriend, against whom she had just obtained a restraining order, was nearby and she feared for her life, Springfield police Commissioner William Fitchet said.

Ambrose arrived in a one-man patrol car and found 29-year-old Charlene Mitchell and 35-year-old Shawn Bryan, of Hempstead, N.Y., outside, Fitchet said. They went to Mitchell's apartment, where, Fitchet said, Bryan pushed Mitchell inside, followed her and slammed the door on Ambrose, who tried to get inside. Bryan shot Ambrose through the door, opened it and fired at him again, then shot Mitchell, Fitchet said.

Fitchet said Bryan, who worked at the Rikers Island correctional facility, apparently shot himself in the chest in his car outside Mitchell's apartment building. Officers arriving to back up Ambrose found all three.

Fitchet said Ambrose and Bryan were pronounced dead at Baystate Medical Center and Mitchell was in critical condition there late Monday after undergoing surgery.

Mitchell had obtained the restraining order, to be served on Bryan, about 45 minutes before the shootings. The Springfield Republican newspaper reported that the court ordered Bryan to stay at least 100 yards from Mitchell and to have no contact with her or their 1-year-old child and to surrender his firearms to police. Police said the order allowed Bryan to pick up some of his belongings from Mitchell.

The New York City Department of Correction said it was "shocked and saddened" by what happened Monday and expressed its condolences to Ambrose's family.

"Each of us takes an oath of office to preserve and protect the lives of others," Correction Commissioner Dora Schriro said in a statement. "This is an unspeakable tragedy."

Ambrose, a 36-year veteran, is the first Springfield officer killed on duty in nearly 27 years. Fitchet said he is survived by his wife, two children and a grandchild.

Hampden District Attorney Mark Mastroianni said Ambrose "served as a hero."

"His career choice made him a hero," he said. "His actions today made him a hero."

Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno ordered flags on municipal buildings lowered in memory of Ambrose, who he said "wore his badge with honor and integrity and served our city with a tremendous amount of pride and passion."

The last Springfield officers shot and killed on duty were patrolmen Alain Beauregard and Michael Schiavina, gunned down while making a traffic stop in 1985.

Springfield, with a population of about 153,000, is the largest city in western Massachusetts and the third largest in the state. It is about 90 miles west of Boston and about 25 miles north of Hartford, Conn.

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Driver arrested after allegedly dragging officer

William Quinn, 60, of Island Park (WABC Photo / (Nassau Police))

  Eyewitness NewsISLAND PARK (WABC) -- Police in Nassau County have arrested an Island Park man after he allegedly dragged a police officer with his car.

The incident happened around 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

According to investigators, William Quinn, 60, was stopped by a Fourth Precinct police officer at Island Parkway and Southard Drive for operating a 2005 Toyota with excessively tinted windows.

After being handed the traffic summons, police say Quinn became agitated and accelerated the vehicle, dragging the officer approximately 20 feet eventually knocking him to the ground.

The officer was able to enter his police vehicle and follow Quinn, stopping him at Island Parkway and Suffolk Road.

Quinn then placed his vehicle into reverse and fled westbound on Island Parkway.

The officer called for help and other officers then stopped Quinn at Long Beach Road and Island Parkway.

Police say he refused to be handcuffed, flailing his arms and attempted to pull away from officers. He was eventually placed into custody.

The injured officer was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released for abrasions and contusions to his arms, shoulders and legs.

Quinn is facing charges of assault, resisting arrest and numerous traffic violations.

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Court papers: NYPD officer shooting suspect sorry

Web produced by Jennifer Matarese, Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- The man charged with murder in the shooting death of a police officer during a botched break-in apologized and said he didn't mean to fire the gun, according to court papers released Wednesday.

Lamont Pride, 27, and four others have pleaded not guilty in the death of Officer Peter Figoski, who was shot once in the face Dec. 12 as he tried to enter the basement apartment, the scene of a reported burglary. While Pride was being driven in a police car to central booking, he told police he was sorry, according to the papers.

"I didn't mean for this to happen," he said. "I didn't want to kill a cop. It went wrong and I'm sorry. I can't take it back," he said, according to the papers.

Through the stack of messy, hand-written statements gleaned from investigators, the plot emerges as a badly-conceived attempt to rob a drug dealer. Authorities said Pride and the others hatched the plot the day before to rob the apartment. Michael Velez, 21, stayed in the getaway car as the four others went in to the dingy, barely finished apartment at 25 Pine St. Ariel Tejada, 22, and Nelson Morales, 27, pistol-whipped the tenant and beat him while they ransacked the place, authorities charged.

When the owner upstairs called 911 to report a commotion in the building, Kevin Santos and Pride hid in a boiler room as Tejada and Morales pretended they were concerned neighbors, authorities said.

Figoski and his partner arrived as backup as Santos and Pride tried to flee. During a struggle between the officer's partner and Santos, Figoski came face-to-face with Pride, who police said shot him once in the face with a semiautomatic handgun. Figoski died hours later at a hospital. His partner pursued Pride on foot and captured him several blocks away, police said.

All five have pleaded not guilty on charges of murder, burglary and robbery.

Details of the ill-fated plan vary, depending on which defendant is telling the story. According to the papers, they all agree on a few details: They went to rob the pot dealer who lived in the basement apartment. Some implicate one another in the crime in some way, either by blaming it all on Pride, as Morales did, or by saying they went to the home but did not participate, as Santos did, according to the court papers.

"I told them I didn't want no part of that so we all get out, the driver stays. I walked across the street, walking slow, watching them as I walked off the police arrived," Santos told investigators, according to papers.

Pride, according to the papers, eventually admitted he had the weapon and told officers he got nervous when he saw police, clutched it with both hands and it accidentally went off.

None of the attorneys representing the suspects commented after a brief hearing Wednesday packed with uniformed officers.

Figoski, who was on the force 22 years, was posthumously promoted to detective.

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Groping suspect shot by officer on subway

  Eyewitness NewsHARLEM (WABC) -- An off duty police officer shot a groping suspect during a struggle on a subway platform in Harlem on Friday afternoon.

Authorities said the man was identified by two women as a groper who assaulted them in a Harlem subway platform.

The off duty NYPD officer, a 19 year veteran assigned to transit, first talked to a teenager who was with her mother when she said she was groped. A second woman then also told the officer she had also been groped, and the officer told the teen's mother to call 911.

Officials said the off duty officer then approached the alleged groper, identified himself as NYPD,and the confrontation followed.

In the struggle, the officer's gun discharged, striking the man once.

He was taken to Harlem Hospital and expected to survive.

Police say the 22 year old man has 20 prior arrests.

The officer was not injured and police believe he happened to be at the right place at the right time.

One bullet was recovered at the scene, believed to be the officer's, as was a folding knife on the tracks that may belong to the suspect.

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Family, friends attend wake for Officer Figoski

  NEW YORK (WABC) -- Hundreds of officers, friends, and family came together on Long Island Saturday to remember a New York City police officer killed in the line of duty.

Officer Peter Figoski was killed while responding to a call in Brooklyn on Monday.

He shot once in the face when he responded to a report of a break-in, and he died hours later. His death is felt by law enforcement officials across the area; men and women in blue who along with Figoski's family mourn his loss.

He has four daughters, two in high school and two in college.

The four grieving daughters walked into the funeral home in Babylon, a start to the goodbyes to their fallen father.

"You couldn't get a more doting father. His four lovely daughters they were his life," Former NYPD officer Ricky Giordano said.

Tear-filled daughters, siblings, parents followed in by Officer Figoski's family on the force.

"You didn't lose just a coworker, you lost a dear friend. Everybody knew him. Guys are coming up to me like it's my loss, yeah it is my loss because he was a best friend, he was a brother to me, but it's everyone who knew him's loss," Giordano said.

The officer's former partner of ten years recalled the man honored as being a hero every day of his 22 years in the NYPD.

Not just on that dark Brooklyn street Monday morning when he was so savagely shot in the head. "Here's an officer taken from us in the prime of his life, killed for simply doing his job. He was responding to a call, never had a chance to defend himself," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

It is that dedication to the community he served these officers carry heavily in their hearts as they wait in line to pay their respects.

Grieving for a man whose death friends say so sadly reflects a life lived with pure honor.

"He had an aura about him that was of pure dedication to his loved ones, to his community, to the city of New York," friend Liz O'Handley.

The wake continues Sunday from 2 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. at Boyd Funeral Home, 448 West Main Street, Babylon, NY.

Funeral Mass will be held Monday morning at 11:00 a.m. at St. Josephs Church, 39 North Carll Avenue, Babylon, NY.

Police arrested five suspects in connection to the shooting.

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2 NYC streets renamed for fallen soldier & NYPD officer

  Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- A soldier from the Bronx who was killed in Iraq was honored on Saturday with a street renaming.

The corner of East 156th Street and Courtlandt Avenue in the Melrose section was renamed Sergeant Jose Velez Avenue.

Sgt. Velez was killed in 2006 while serving in Iraq.

The father of two died after his Humvee hit a road side bomb near Kirkuk.

Velez was killed just three days before his 36th birthday.

And in Harlem, there was another special street renaming.

East 123rd Street in front of the NYPD Housing Bureau's Service Area 5 Station House is now renamed Detective Omar J. Edwards Way.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly joined family members of Detective Omar Edwards.

He was shot and killed two years ago in a friendly fire accident while chasing a man who had broken into his car.

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