Here’s the latest this morning on the shooting of Police Officer Brian Groves at the Seward Park Extension housing complex. Following yesterday’s incident, the NYPD is still searching for the suspect, who fled down a stairwell at 64 Essex Street early yesterday morning after shooting Groves in the chest. Groves, who was wearing a bullet proof vest, will likely be released from the hospital today.
Cops released a sketch of the suspect yesterday afternoon. The man they’re looking for is in his early 20’s with a skinny build. He was wearing a long black t-shirt, long red basketball shorts with a cream-colored stripe. The suspect’s hair is styled in corn rows with beads in them. He was carrying a silver, long-barrel revolver.
Today, the Daily News published an op/ed from police Commissioner Ray Kelly. First off, the commissioner detailed what Groves was doing in the public housing development at 3:30 in the morning:
The New York City Police Department works every day… to improve safety where some of the city’s poorest people reside by assigning police officers to regularly patrol their buildings. That’s what Police Officers Brian Groves and Erick Corniel were doing early Thursday in the Seward Park Houses on the lower East Side, where there had been reports of drug dealing and disorderly people. About 3:30 a.m., they took the elevator to the 23rd floor, where they planned to descend to the lobby, walking down each flight and checking landings and hallways for any criminal activity along the way.
The officers were conducting what’s know as a “vertical patrol.” In the News, Kelly defended the practice, which has recently come under attack:
At Bellevue Hospital, Mayor Bloomberg and I visited the officer, and met his wife, Nicole, the mother of their two young daughters. Afterward, the mayor reminded reporters that the police and public are put at risk, not only by the gunmen themselves, but also by a Congress loathe to enact serious gun control, by jurists quick to overturn solid gun arrests, and by critics who hope to undermine the very tactics that have saved lives and made New York the nation’s safest large city. Police Department is even being sued to stop proactive policing practices like the vertical patrol that flushed the gunman from the stairwell in the Seward Park Houses… Those who try to force the NYPD to change course should be held responsible for the direction that change takes the city.
In a separate editorial, the News agreed whole-heartily with the commissioner, and defended the “vertical patrol” policy, which has been criticized as susceptible to racial profiling:
The undeniable truth is that, rationally , the NYPD concentrates on neighborhoods with the highest crime rates. Unfortunately, those happen to be minority areas. Consider the findings of a new study by the Reuters wire service. Reuters analyzed 3 million stops by police from 2006 to 2011. It turns out that 20% happened at or near public housing projects, even though the developments account for just 7% of the city’s residents. Why were stops out of proportion to population? The missing factor is crime: Felonies are heavily concentrated in the projects. One in five murders last year occurred at a project. So did one in five shootings. One out of every four guns seized by police was confiscated at or near a project. By the numbers alone, it is clear that police are targeting the right places for their most intense enforcement efforts. Of particular note: More than half the searches conducted in or near housing projects last year occurred inside lobbies, hallways and stairwells, the very place Groves was patrolling when a gunman almost took his life.
The Post also turned its attention to the practice, noting that 35 people have been shot in public housing developments in the past month.
More on the manhunt: Although Groves fired four times at the suspect, it was unclear whether he was hit. There was no blood trial. Officers visited every apartment in the building, and searched four units in the complex for evidence. The Times reported two men were seen being led away from the building in handcuffs. There are no security cameras at the Seward Park Extension; they aren’t scheduled to be installed until next year.
If you have information about this crime, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
I’m surprised security cameras were not installed in that building. Oh, so they are scheduled to be installed next year. What a farce.
Also, can we rename that building after officer Groves?
Maybe Sivandrew can open a bar near that scary corner to mitigate that problem; after all (according to her) B-Side helped with the gang problem on Avenue B.
@ Turk 182: great idea. Rename that residential “complex”, which is a nest of criminals and their “activities” ( I have personal knowledge of and have witnessed their activities) after the poor unfortunate officer who was just doing his job.
Talk about adding insult to injury. I have a feeling Officer Groves would reject any attempt, not that there would be any, at a renaming in what “his honor”?
Sheesh.
The NYPD has found itself in the position of defending vertical patrol?
What is wrong with this?
Our taxpayer dollars are used to subsidize housing in the NYCHA projects.
Most of us are reluctant to see more dollars spent on anything other than maintenance of these buildings but somehow the commission of crime, which is disproportionate in these projects (see Reuters stats cited in NYDaily News for numbers), needs to be policed.
How can vertical patrol be racial profiling? It uncovers people who are wandering around the project buildings (stairwells, roofs, etc.)?
Are they not assumed to be residents until proved otherwise?
What are the suggestions of those accusing the NYPD of “racial profiling vertical patrols” as to how to address the concerns of the NYCHA complex residents who have complained of criminal activity in their buildings?
The few hard-working, law-abiding residents are supposed to endure and appease the many who have threatened their safety and habitability?
Or is it the other way around?
I don’t get the logic of the opposition here.
Hello, I was being sarcastic.
It is not something to be mocked. Bars and restaurants and street activity ARE good for safety. You doubt that? Then answer this question: At 3 AM would you prefer to walk alone on busy St. Mark’s Street or on desolate Madison Street?
Whew.
To call the building a “nest of criminals” shows how little you know about the building and the community that lives in it. As a lifetime resident, I can honestly say this is the first incident (shooting) in my 30 years living here. 90% of my neighbors (including me and my family) work very hard to keep the community safe. We have jobs and are educated (my sister is Ivy League educated at both the bachelor and master levels; I am a Fordham University alumn), and have no criminal record(it is against NYCHA policy to allow convicted felons to live in a NYCHA development), but unfortunately there are always a few bad apples in a bunch.
The individual that shot the officer most likely does not live here, but was able to get into the building due to our lack of security (besides a front door that is always broken).We have been asking NYCHA for more security (private or NYPD) and security cameras for over 10 years, to no avail. Maybe all it took was the [unfortunate] shooting of an officer to finally give us the security we need and deserve.
Again, calling my home a nest of criminals is both inaccurate and borderline racist. Tell that to all the locals and tourists who enjoy a nice breeze on summer nights without hassle from the natives to see what they say.
Madison, without question.
I’m more likely to be hassled or even assaulted in a crowd of drunks anywhere in the E.V. than on “…desolate…” Madison.
And for someone who lives above the ghetto to call Madison desolate also shows a lack of knowledge about the neighborhood in which they reside.
Applause.
ditto
no one should be walking anywhere at 3am… one should be taking a cab at that time regardless of where they are.
That said, part of Delancey Street will likely be conamed after Dashane Santana because her death from a traffic accident following a long line of fatal accidents (probably dating back to when the bridge was first constructed) prompted the DOT to make some modest traffic improvements. In the case of the shooting in the SP Annex, the shooting of officer Groves may also prompt some modest improvement of security in that building, possibly the installation of security cameras this year (instead of next) and an entrance door with a working lock. Since these changes might also save lives, you have to appreciate the similarities which is why I sarcastically suggested renaming the project after Groves.
Sorry I missed your sarcasm – I usually appreciate it!
I do agree that the sad and unfortunately fatal accident which killed Dashane Santana is what prompted (and isn’t that always the case?) the Dot to finally address that intersection with some improvements.
And those of us living near the SP Extension building do hope for better security. But while hope is a good thing I think action is better. People, even non-residents of that building and other NYCHA properties, need to write to NYCHA and elected official and demand that money be found for security cameras. Privately owned buildings have had security cameras installed for many years and they have nowhere near the criminal activity cited in NYCHA buildings.
People need to speak up on this topic to the relevant “authorities”.