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2 men arrested in shooting of NYPD officers, police say

07 January 2015 05:04 (UTC +04:00)

In fact, Andrew Dossi, Aliro Pellerano and three other officers were changing clothes at the end of a dangerous anti-crime detail when they ran out of a Bronx station house to search for two robbery suspects, officials said. The suspects were arrested Tuesday.

"Chances are they weren't wearing their vests," Chief of Department James O'Neill told reporters. "They were going home. They jumped into a car and they ended up getting into this fierce firefight."

The alleged shooter was identified as Jason Polanco, a boxer who was charged with five counts of attempted murder of a police officer and was said to have posted anti-police and anti-government statements on social media, police said. His alleged accomplice, Joshua Kemp, was arrested on robbery charges.

The wounded officers spent Tuesday at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx. One of them, Dossi, who is 30 and has eight years on the job, was in stable condition following surgery after being shot in the arm and lower back, according to police. The other, Pellerano, who is 38 and has nine years as an officer, is in stable condition with gunshot wounds to the chest and arm.

"Last night a team of our officers displayed extraordinary bravery, going above and beyond the call to protect their fellow New Yorkers," Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has found himself at odds with some in his police force in recent weeks, said in a statement Tuesday. "We thank these officers for their commitment to serving our city, including answering the call after their shift had ended. ... This incident was yet another reminder of how profoundly important the work of our police officers is, as well as the seriousness of the dangers they face every day in the line of duty."

De Blasio also thanked New Yorkers who provided more than two dozen tips that helped identify the gunman. Police said 10 of the tipsters identified Polanco by name.

Monday night, authorities located the white Camaro that two suspects carjacked a block from the shooting, as well as a .44-caliber revolver, but no one was inside the vehicle.

Before Polanco was arrested, police offered a $12,000 reward for information leading to a bearded man pictured in a surveillance video from inside a take-out Chinese restaurant moments before the shooting. Police said he was the man who shot at the officers. Polanco entered the restaurant and bought a bottle of iced tea before coming out firing at the officers who stopped his alleged accomplice outside, police said.