By Pascal
In the past decade, civil suits against the NYPD have more than doubled, hitting a record high of 9,500 in 2012. They’ve cost taxpayers $1 billion and tend to result from such outstanding police work as making false arrests and shooting people’s pets. Now, the city might be on the hook for another $90 million thanks to a NYPD officer who got drunk and allegedly started shooting at a stopped car for no apparent reason . . .
If you’re an Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day fan, you may remember that the two men suing the department—Joseph Felice and Robert Borrelli—were waiting at a red light when a drunken Officer Brendan Cronin (above) unloaded 14 shots into their vehicle. Felice was hit six times, but his friend was able to rush him to the hospital in time to save his life.
“I honestly don’t know how we survived this unprovoked ambush, or why he chose to single out Joe and myself for his vicious rampage,” Borrelli said, according to the AP.
Court documents obtained by the Lohud Journal News show that Cronin told police he had stopped at a bar after a day spent training at a NYPD shooting range. He had 10 drinks there and says he doesn’t remember much of what happened next. In addition to the civil suit, he now faces charges of attempted murder, first-degree assault and driving while intoxicated, reports the AP.
On the bright side, the NYPD is making the city safer by arresting dancing children and people who doze off on the subway.
Out of control power and domination.
This cop used his gun.
Bloomberg uses money and coersion.
Bloomberg/Minions and Co pays men with guns to do his dirty work upon unarmed and helpless citizens, yet the citizens do nothing, they don’t even Bleat
Wait, civil suits got closed out before criminal? Isn’t that backwards?
Not for one of the NYC Mayor’s enforcers. The criminal trial will be postponed until Cronin dies of old age while on paid admin leave. His estate will get $2 million in unpaid accrued vacation pay.
Why don’t these cops ever seem to get the LONG prison sentence they deserve? We’ve certainly had more than our share of these rabid cops in Chicagoland. Oh wait…maybe they learned it from Garry McCarthy-mr. let’s get drunk and shoot streetlights. New York’s gift to Chicago.
I’m sure the NYPD is taking this very seriously. Officer Cronin will certainly get the sternest talking-to as well as the most uncomfortable wrist-slap.
Ouch, slapping the wrist, a bit harsh. How about a good finger wagging instead?
Union rep will appeal the wrist slap.
They’ll negotiate the penalty down to a simple “tsk, tsk, tsk.”
My guess is, he came upon the car at the intersection and saw that a headlight was out, and he knew that he was WAY too drunk to attempt to write a ticket, but he had his gun right there at hand, so . . .
My guess is he thought he saw a dog in the car.
6 out of 14, not bad for nypd, without stress of hard day and drinks. At least it wasn’t a sugary drink of 16 oz or more. I am glad Bloomberg wants to take my gun and send this guy for protection.
Maybe they should require NYPD officers to go on patrol drunk to improve their accuracy.
You are assuming he was aiming for the car. Who knows.
I wonder if they will have his retired New York City unrestricted pistol license ready for him.
Free for him, of course.
maybe Bloomy should help foot the bill ?
But I thought police were the few worthy of carrying a gun because they get magical training that makes them able to resist the gun’s desire to shoot everyone in sight? Shannon, Mikey, what’s the deal here? I’m so confused.
The magical training only becomes active after 10 drinks. He did connect six times, after all.
Do you suppose he will get out on $500 bail like the other cop a couple days ago?
Cronin, 27, a six-year veteran cop who lives in Yonkers, was suspended without pay following his arrest and released on $150,000 bail. His arraignment has not been scheduled. His lawyer could not be reached.
He is also now being charged with attempted murder
OK I’ll try to be fair here; would you or I be on the hook for 90 million if we had shot up an unoccupied car in the middle of the street? I really have no idea about this, it kind of seems like we would just go to jail, and maybe even be able to get out in just a short time. Or maybe I watch too much Law & Order.
EDIT: yeah I didn’t read it
The City is on the hook for the 90 mil, not the officer. If you or I–or our insurance companies, or our employer, or the owner of the bar where we got drunk, or anybody else even remotely connected to us, had that kind of money to hand–yes, we (or more correctly they) would be on the hook for it.
the ruester,
Car was occupied, not empty. Two people were inside it, one was hit multiple times.
BIG difference.
Wait a second!…. so he shot two full magazines necessitating a reload (14 shots in NY) during this assault on the motorists? Oh he was a man in blue, never mind. Silly me, law enforcement were exempted from the NY SAFE act because they are the only people trained and responsible enough to carry guns in public.
Gun was a Glock, so normal capacity is 15-17 rounds (unlikely it was a 10-shot subcompact).
Do they make NYPD use the neutered 10-shot magazines? I was under the impression cops could use normal-capacity mags for on/off-duty use; if so, no reload was necessary.
Of course not. They get a regular 15 round mag for their Glock 19s.
When the seven round mag limit was announced, everyone involved made a big deal about how it took effect IMMEDIATELY. Then someone read the law, and realized that in their haste to shove it through the legislature without even a cursory review, they had forgotten to put in an exemption for the boys in blue and the police were in violation of Da Law by having high capacity assault clips and scurry assault weapons.
Howls of protest from law enforcement were made. “We’ll be outgunned!” they cried. Politicians back pedaled, saying the law didn’t actually take effect until April, (this was early February of 2013) and provisions were added so the cops wouldn’t have to go back to using revolvers.
…and then it was changed anyway to 10 round magazines (with a 3 round download which was subsequently tossed in court).
This was a drunken moron with a gun.. who happened to be a cop. Unfortunately it does happen. But lucky for the plaintiffs so they can get compensated for the tragedy. As a whole im sure most of NYPD are good cops doing a tough job. Blow the rest of that crap out your love hole Dan.
As a whole im sure most of NYPD are good cops doing a tough job.
Obviously, you’ve never been to New York. Maybe you should ask your parole officer for permission.
Oh please, NYPD is one of the largest armed gangs in America second only to (maybe) the LAPD… quit the moron cop apologetics.
“Lucky for the plaintiffs” ?? The man was shot six times!
Hey Cliff, if I promise to give you $90 million, will you let me shoot you six times with a 9mm?
I don’t think so. Remember the whistleblower who reported how Mayor Bloomberg had the NYPD go after ordinary citizens for non crimes while pressuring the NYPD to ignore perpatrators of serious crimes?
Don’t worry about the cop. Charges will be dropped and he’ll be back on the street gunning for you in no time.
Cronin, 27, a six-year veteran cop who lives in Yonkers, was suspended without pay following his arrest and released on $150,000 bail. His arraignment has not been scheduled. His lawyer could not be reached.
He is also now being charged with attempted murder
Still has to go to the grand jury. They will rule insufficient evidence to prosecute.
Uh, wrong again.
” Felice said Thursday that the indictment was encouraging but “only the beginning” because he wants to see Cronin imprisoned. Borelli said he was pleased “that the grand jury recognized Officer Cronin’s clear intent to kill.”
I looked at that “dancing children” link, and I think the “children” are like Shannon’s “children.” The expression brings to mind “I’m a little teapot,” not adolescents endangering passengers on the subway.
Most of the time when cops shoot somebody without justification, they don’t use an unsophisticated excuse like “I was drunk.” No, it’s usually “he made a furtive movement,” or “I thought his cell phone was an Uzi.” You know, the stuff their union tells them to say. In fact, I think every cop carries a little card in his wallet with a whole bunch of crap excuses, oops, I mean explanations.
I’m glad to see that the NYPD is broadening its bullsh1t horizons. This will pay big dividends down the line. Next year, “I was blind stinking drunk” will probably be good for a free pass and six months paid vacation, oops, I mean rehabilitation.
“I thought his cell phone was an Uzi”
Dammit, Ralph. Cola out the nose is not pleasant. 😉
There is that iPhone app that makes gun noises.
I think the New York version of that iPhone app is probably limited to 7 round magazines. Otherwise it wouldn’t be compliant and you know how those morons are.
Mistook cell phone for an Uzi? What about that woman on America’s Stupidest who tried to commit suicide by cop? She pointed her cellphone at them in a two handed grip and screamed threats. This time, though, the cops saw it was not a weapon & merely took her down to the local loony bin.
Anyway, 1970’s New York City under Koch or Dinkins will soon look like a law & order golden age the more time their commie mayor spends in office. Morale in the NYPD can’t be very high right now NOT JUSTIFYING what this hoodlum with a badge did when the booze was in.
Yeah, sometimes it seems like you can’t make them shoot you no matter how hard you sell it.
And other times, you take out your wallet, and get shot at 41 times (19 hits):
http://www.nytimes.com/2000/02/26/nyregion/diallo-verdict-overview-4-officers-diallo-shooting-are-acquitted-all-charges.html
She should have pretended that she was a pit bull.
Just like I suspected; alcohol makes you forget your training.
Wonder if he was firing duty Gold Dot ammo or practice FMJ?
Either way, surviving 6rds, that’s pretty tough.. Hope NYC gets fucked in the settlement.
Don’t forget, it’s the taxPAYER who gets COMMENT MODERATED… not necessarily the voters.
Don’t forget they are cleaning up the landscape soon with lawnmower inspections. Guess it’s a way to make 90 million back.
They could try car washes using hydrants and NYFD to raise a few bucks too too. Michelle won’t let them run bake sales.
My memory could be fading, but did all this aberrant behavior from NYC’s finest happen during the Giuliani’s administration?
Well, the NYPD sodomized a man with a toilet plunger when Giuliani was in office, so I guess shooting people in a drunken stupor is kind of a step up for them.
So you’re saying this guy is the strongest candidate for the next Chief of Police in Chicago?
He’d be better than the one they have. He’s got six years on the job.
It’s not often that I quote the movie Payback, but when I do, I like to quote this line:
“Crooked cops. Do they come in any other way? If I’d been just a little dumber, I could have joined the force myself.” Show of hands, how many here think that this cop was trouble even before this incident, all his buddies knew it, but nobody wanted to do anything about it? Power corrupts, and when these idiots who peaked in high school get so much of it once they join the force, is it really a surprise that they feel invincible? Especially since their union will protect them and no harm will ever come to them, save for some meaningless slap on the wrist and paid vacation..I mean leave. Their behavior is seldom punished, which sends a strong signal that their unacceptable behavior is anything but.
In a regime like NYC or Chicago the cop enforces the elitists and their political agenda not the law. Loyalty is payed back with protection and a loose leash. My guess is this guy will walk after the defense comes up with with some sob story and if he gets any sentence it will be less than 2 years of actual time served.
Hats off to Giuliani. He had NYC clean for awhile. Too bad he didn’t make POTUS.
The car was asking for it!
It looked like a dog
Honestly, I’m surprised the driver wasn’t charged with fleeing the scene of an accident, or running from a police officer.
6 out of 14 is a stellar hit ratio for a NY cop. Being blind drunk seems to improve their accuracy.
If this cop had a 7 round mag the damage would have been much less.
Give him a few years in general lockup to think about it
Lemme guess, this drunken bum is on paid administrative leave and collecting disability for PTSD from this traumatic incident where he was forced to fire on two citizens.
The union reps got his back I’m sure.
Sucks to be an NYC taxpayer. Actually, I won’t visit NYC. There’s a sick part of mr that almost thinks that the taxpayers deserve it since they continually vote for high taxes and statist leaders. The idiot cop definitely deserves a healthy dose of prison time.
When cops don’t have accountability, or screw the pooch this badly, it’s a lose / lose situation. Taxpayers lose, police depart my loses, and some poor guy had to endure the pain of his life.
The victims are missing out if they didn’t join the bar that sold him 10 drinks in the suit. I’m sure NY has a “Dram Shop Act” that allows bars to be sued if they served an obviously intoxicated customer who then goes on to harm others because of his inebriated state.
Do we know which bar is involved? Because if it’s one of those cop bars, I’m guessing somebody will make sure that it’s protected from liability. If, on the other hand, it’s just a ‘regular’ joint, then who knows, the cop’s lawyer will say it’s the barkeep’s fault those guys got shot and not his client’s.