Brooklyn cops shoot and kill driver after he nearly strikes lieutenant with vehicle, NYPD says

Police shot and killed a driver in Brooklyn Tuesday night after he tried to flee NYPD and hit a cop with his vehicle.

Photo by Lloyd Mitchell

Police officers in Brooklyn shot and killed a driver on Tuesday night who allegedly tried to flee from an NYPD car stop and nearly struck a lieutenant with his vehicle in the process. 

According to police brass, the NYPD Community Response Team spotted the driver operating his vehicle erratically along the Belt Parkway near Starrett City at about 8:06 p.m. on April 29. Chief of Department John Chell said cops spotted mismatched license plates on the vehicle in question and discovered they belonged to a stolen car.

“They observed a suspicious Porsche with suspicious plates. The officers conducted a quick check on this vehicle, and the plate came back as stolen. It was later discovered that this vehicle, in fact, was stolen out of Pennsylvania.” Chief Chell said. “When he also attempted to pull the car over at Cropsey Avenue, the vehicle exited, but then a high rate of speed got back on the Belt Parkway.”

Rather than engage the driver in a pursuit, police reported, cops moved to stop the driver by attempting a blockade at exit 13. The driver, however, allegedly drove through the blockade, nearly striking a lieutenant, law enforcement sources said — something chief Chell later confirmed.  

“Officers tried to intercept this vehicle, at which time, this Porsche at a high rate of speed, maneuvered onto the service road in direction of several officers who set up a roadblock to stop this vehicle. At least one of these officers, the Porsche came into close proximity, nearly striking him,” Chell reported, adding that the incident was captured on body camera.

During the chaos, the lieutenant opened fire on the vehicle, sending a bullet penetrating through the car’s windshield and hitting the 28-year-old driver in the chest. EMS rushed him Brookdale hospital where he was pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger in the car was taken into custody. The lieutenant, meanwhile, was examined at a local hospital.  

While police say the identity of the driver is being withheld pending family notification, they sources say the driver was on federal probation for transporting stolen vehicles across state lines from Pennsylvania.