NEW YORK — Two New York City police officers were shot as they struggled with a domestic violence suspect who grabbed an officer’s gun, officials said Tuesday. The suspect was also injured.
All were hospitalized after a shooting that revived memories of the killing of two New York Police Department officers during a domestic disturbance call almost exactly two years earlier. But the officers who were injured Tuesday — one in the left hand and the other in the left thigh — were expected to make a full recovery, said Police Chief Edward Caban. Police said the suspect, who was shot multiple times, was in critical but stable condition.
“Our officers are lucky to be alive at this hour,” Caban said at a news conference at the hospital.
Police have not yet released surveillance footage of the encounter and investigators are still working to determine exactly what happened, including how many weapons were fired and by whom. It was not immediately clear whether 39-year-old suspect Melvin Butler has an attorney who could comment on the charges, and a phone number for him could not immediately be found.
Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat and retired police chief, called Butler “a very violent and dangerous individual” who “tried to harm our police officers, but they responded accordingly.”
Police were called to a Brooklyn apartment around 3 p.m. by a woman who reported that her son was attacking her and that she had a head injury, said Chief Detective Joseph Kenny. A sergeant and three officers, all in uniform, arrived and attempted to arrest Butler, but he resisted and began a violent struggle, Kenny said.
Kenny said the body camera video recorded the officers and Butler going to the ground and then an officer saying, “He’s got my gun.” Then shots are heard on the video, Kenny said.
On January 21, 2022, officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora were fatally injured in a Harlem apartment while answering a call about an argument between a woman and her adult son. The son swung open a bedroom door and shot Mora and Rivera, police said. A third officer, Officer Sumit Sulan, then fatally shot the gunman.
President Joe Biden honored all three officers with the Medal of Valor last May. The medal is the nation’s highest award for bravery displayed by a public safety officer.