Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Faces Critics Once Again After Bronx Shooting
By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 21, 2007
Modified Mar 7, 2008
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Friday night shooting of an unarmed driver in the Bronx has sparked more tension between the NYPD and community. The victim, Fermin Arzu, who was shot by an off-duty police officer in the Longwood section of the Bronx, was an immigrant from the Honduras, and the senior Honduran diplomat, Javier Hernandez, criticized the police in the NY Times: "The police cannot shoot crazily or indiscriminately. Before, there was courtesy, now there is intimidation, and I think it should be the other way around."
Arzu's niece made her family's concerns known, saying, "Just because they had a little power they decided to take someone's life." Arzu's faughter Katherine said, “I have no words. The cop shot my father and he needs to pay for all of this.” And Arzu's fiancee, Thomas Sabio, who hours before the shooting had been discharged from the hospital after a masectomy, said, "It's just like Sean Bell. The police kill people for no reason."
The NYPD has promised a full investigation, as the details of the shooting remain unclear and use of deadly force when a vehicle is once again debated. Here's how the AP describes the incident:
Police said it began when Arzu slammed into a parked car on a side street near the officer's home.
Witnesses told investigators the minivan backed up and drove about a block before Lora, who was on foot and out of uniform, caught up to the vehicle. He was standing at the driver's open door when the minivan lurched forward.
The officer discharged his 9mm pistol five times, hitting the driver once, police said.
A spokeswoman for the city medical examiner's office said the bullet entered the driver's back and pierced his heart, left lung and aorta, but he still managed to drive a block before his minivan struck another vehicle and caught fire. The car bumped onto a sidewalk and came to rest against the wall of a church.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer suffered a minor arm injury and was treated at a hospital and released.
Departmental guidelines say that police officers should not shoot "their firearms at or from a moving vehicle unless deadly physical force is being used against the police officer or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle." It's unclear whether the officer, Raphael Lora, thought that Arzu was reaching for a gun, but no weapon was found.
Kirsten Foy, spokeswoman for the Reverend Al Sharpton's National Action Network, said, "If you just got into an accident, would it be unreasonable to say you were going to reach into the glove compartment for your registration or an insurance card? Is it reasonable for a police officer to assume you're reaching for a gun and not legitimate paperwork?" Sharpton, who said he had met with Arzu's family, said, "There seems to be, from what we heard so far, no logical reason for this man to be dead," and said the situation "smells."
Patrick Lynch of the Patrolman's Benevolent Association said, "Law enforcement has a legal obligation to conduct a full and thorough investigation of the facts before coming to any conclusion. Those who make snap judgments without all the facts do not serve the best interests of this city or those involved in the incident."
Tagged
al sharpton
benevolent association
bronx
church
Fermin Arzu
fire
gun
hospital
law
law enforcement
Medical Examiner
national action network
News: NYC
ny times
nypd
patrick Lynch
people
police
Reverend Al
reverend al sharpton
sean bell
shooting
the city
The Friday
The NYPD
The Police
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Tompkins Square Park is getting a makeover. Some say it's too much.
Some regulars at the East Village park want to preserve its not-so-fancy offerings.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 17, 2026 at 7:00 a.m. ET
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
News
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .