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U.S. NEWS Friday 25 OctOber 2019

NYPD: Suspect's bullet struck officer who was saved by vest

By MICHAEL R. SISAK officer. In a short clip re- termute and two other of-
Associated Press leased by police, both men ficers opened fire, shoot-
NEW YORK (AP) — A naked are seen with guns drawn ing a total of 17 times and
man wielding a handgun in before Wintermute falls to striking Hernandez 10 times,
a New York City apartment the ground. Maloney said.
building shot at a police of- Deputy Chief Kevin Malo- Wintermute was treated at
ficer, striking his bulletproof ney, of the NYPD's Force a hospital and released the
vest, before officers killed Investigation Division, said same day.
the man in a hail of gun- ballistics tests linked the Hernandez's mother, a po-
fire, police said Thursday. bullet that hit Officer Chris- lice officer, called for an
The announcement came topher Wintermute's vest to independent investigation
amid speculation about Hernandez's gun — a 9mm into her son's death. The
another case of friendly semiautomatic pistol that NYPD says Manhattan DA's
fire, the cause of two offi- dropped to the floor mo- office will review the shoot-
cer deaths this year. ments later as he struggled ing. Eight uniformed officers
Security video of the hall- with the officer. The shot responded to the apart- Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney, commander of the Force
Investigation Division, speaks during a news conference at
way clash early Wednes- damaged Wintermute's ment building shortly be- New York City Police Department headquarters, in New York,
day in Harlem shows Of- body-worn camera, but fore 2 a.m. after a resident Thursday, Oct. 24, 2019.
ficer Christopher Winter- the vest saved him from se- called 911 about a neigh- Associated Press
mute in a wild standoff rious harm or death. bor who was harassing her breaking glass, police said. On Oct. 17, a sergeant shot
with the man, identified by As they continued to fight, and acting erratically. He then retreated down and killed a motorist in the
police as 29-year-old Victor Hernandez punched Win- Hernandez, who had a his- a hallway and assumed a Bronx who police say strug-
Hernandez, the apartment termute in the face and tory of domestic violence shooting position for two or gled violently with officers
building's superintendent tried to grab the officer's arrests, had been banging three minutes before Win- after he was pulled over for
and the son of an NYPD gun, Maloney said. Win- on a woman's door and termute encountered him, not wearing a seat belt.
Southern drought shows first Maloney said. In the Harlem shooting,
It was the fourth shooting Maloney said there wasn't
improvement in weeks — third fatal — by New time to call in specialized
York police officers in a units that deal with emo-
nine-day span. So far this tionally disturbed people.
By JAY REEVES year, NYPD officers have Hernandez wasn't holed
Associated Press shot at suspects on 22 oc- up in an apartment and
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — casions, killing 10 of them. was an immediate threat
A fast-developing "flash Last year, the department to Wintermute by pointing
drought" that threatened achieved a record low of a gun at him and firing,
crops and helped spark officer shootings, when of- Maloney said.
wildfires across the South ficers fired at suspects on Police initially said they
is showing the first real im- 12 occasions, resulting in 4 weren't sure who shot Win-
provement in weeks, ac- deaths. termute, fueling specu-
cording to a new report "We certainly have had a lation that he may have
Thursday. The latest assess- recent uptick in the num- been struck by another of-
ment from the National ber of officer-involved ficer's bullet.
Drought Mitigation Center shootings," Maloney said, In September, Officer Brian
said more than a quarter of Ralph LoBue braves the wind at the end of the Okaloosa Island adding that the latest inci- Mulkeen was fatally struck
the Southeast was drought- Fishing Pier near Fort Walton Beach, Fla., as he takes a picture of dents would be reviewed by two police bullets while
free, an improvement of his son, Danny, and the fish he caught on Friday, Oct. 18, 2019. for possible adjustments to struggling with an armed
more than 10 percentage Associated Press officer training. man in the Bronx. In Feb-
points in a week. As much the region this weekend. centimeters) of rain is pos- On Oct. 14, police fatal- ruary, Detective Brian Si-
as 5 inches (12.7 centime- More than 100 high schools sible by Sunday over a ly shot an armed man in monsen was hit once in the
ters) of rain from Tropical in at least seven states wide part of Mississippi, the Brooklyn as he fired a gun chest and killed by crossfire
Storm Nestor helped douse moved up football games weather service said, and at another man. Hours as he and six other officers
the drought. Meanwhile, a day because of a rainy most of Alabama could re- later, officers wounded an fired at a robbery suspect
forecasters said additional forecast for Friday night. ceive 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 armed man on a subway armed with a fake hand-
heavy rains could inundate As much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain. q platform in the Bronx. gun in Queens.q