NYPD: Suspect's bullet struck officer who was saved by vest
NEW YORK (AP) — A naked man wielding a handgun in a New York City apartment building shot at a police officer, striking his bulletproof vest, before officers killed the man in a hail of gunfire, police said Thursday. The announcement came amid speculation about another case of friendly fire, the cause of two officer deaths this year.
Security video of the hallway clash early Wednesday in Harlem shows Officer Christopher Wintermute in a wild standoff with the man, identified by police as 29-year-old Victor Hernandez, the apartment building's superintendent and the son of an NYPD officer. In a short clip released by police, both men are seen with guns drawn before Wintermute falls to the ground.
Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney, of the NYPD's Force Investigation Division, said ballistics tests linked the bullet that hit Officer Christopher Wintermute's vest to Hernandez's gun — a 9mm semiautomatic pistol that dropped to the floor moments later as he struggled with the officer. The shot damaged Wintermute's body-worn camera, but the vest saved him from serious harm or death.
As they continued to fight, Hernandez punched Wintermute in the face and tried to grab the officer's gun, Maloney said. Wintermute and two other officers opened fire, shooting a total of 17 times and striking Hernandez 10 times, Maloney said.
Wintermute was treated at a hospital and released the same day.
Hernandez's mother, a police officer, called for an independent investigation into her son's death. The NYPD says Manhattan DA's office will review the shooting.
Eight uniformed officers responded to the apartment building shortly before 2 a.m. after a resident called 911 about a neighbor who was harassing her and acting erratically.
Hernandez, who had a history of domestic violence arrests, had been...