It has been six years since a police officer nearly lost his life in a shooting at the Seward Park Extension public housing complex on the Lower East Side. As The Daily News reported yesterday, cops are no closer to finding the shooter.
Brian Groves and his partner were patrolling the high rise at 64 Essex St. July 5, 2012. The 30-year-old officer was shot in the chest by a suspect who fled down a stairwell. A bullet proof vest saved Groves’ life. He retired to Florida and received a full disability pension from the NYPD.
More from The Daily News:
After the shooting, cops questioned people coming and going from the building. A police presence remained outside for weeks afterward and authorities went after the local drug crews, a source familiar with Chinatown and Lower East Side gangs told the Daily News. The .22-caliber handgun used to shoot Groves was bought by cops and the Drug Enforcement Administration in an undercover buy the following September. That was the result of a months-long narcotics crackdown that led to the indictment of 13 people.
The News quizzed Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner James O’Neill during a news conference yesterday on the latest crime stats. Here’s the transcript of that exchange:
Question: Officer Brian Groves, it’s been six years now, he’s one of the few officers who were shot in the line of duty and this case hasn’t been solved yet, we did a story about it today, and we still keep hearing from, you know, DCPI that the investigation is ongoing, no arrests. It seems very odd because these cases tend to be solved very quickly. Do you have any information about that? Why his investigation hasn’t been solved?
Commissioner O’Neill: No, I’m going to have to get back to you, I haven’t been updated – I haven’t been briefed on that case recently, so I’m going to get back to you.
Question: Okay, Officer Brian Groves was killed in –
Commissioner O’Neill: Yeah I know, I got it, I got it.
Mayor: Yeah.
Commissioner O’Neill: Yeah I got it. Yup.
Mayor: Ok now, oh thank you, we’re going to go to other topics
A group called “Cop Shot” has offered a $10,000 reward for info about the shooter. Anyone with a lead can call (1-800) COP-SHOT.
