A man approached by three NYPD detectives in an unmarked car was shot dead on Thursday when he produced a .357 revolver for identification, according to the NY Daily News.
Investigators said the unmarked car from the Brooklyn Anti-Crime unit was patrolling a quiet stretch of Fifth Ave. due to a recent rash of strong-arm robberies, police said.
As the car reached 33rd St., opposite Greenwood Cemetery, the officers noticed a loitering man who matched a description of a robbery suspect, police said.
The cops then pulled over and beckoned the man to the car, according to witnesses.
He began yelling at the cops – and then pulled out the handgun from his waistband as he bent over to peer in the driver’s side window.
…
As the cop behind the wheel desperately grappled with the gunman, his partner hopped out of her passenger seat, raced around the car and fired one shot, police said.
The shooting officer – Gerritsen Beach resident Tara Hayes – has the gratitude of the driver’s family:
“If I saw her I would probably cry,” said Eileen Kelleher. “She saved my son’s life.”
The gunman, identified as Michael Romero, was a real charmer:
Romero had a second gun in his backpack along with 8 ounces of marijuana and more than $2,000 in cash, cops said.
Romero had 34 arrests under his belt, including gun crimes, thefts and even assaulting his 13-year-old daughter.
He served two multi-year stints in state prison in his short life, cops said, and was due back in court next week and faced more jail time.
“Assaulting his 13-year-old daughter.” Have I ever mentioned that child murders and child abusers are Number One and Two on my list of people who need the death penalty?
His aunt told the Daily News he was an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic and that carrying guns “was part of his disease.”
Dear New York Courts: Can you walk me through this one? I’m having a hard time understanding how a paranoid schizophrenic with seven felony arrests including gun crimes and minor assault is (1) allowed to go unmedicated and (2) not already in custody in the first place.
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