Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NYPD Backs Cop for Fatally Shooting Man with Chair
By
Billy Parker
Published Nov 15, 2008
Modified Nov 15, 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
Billy Parker
Published Nov 15, 2008
Modified Nov 15, 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 NYPD is defending Officer Dawn Ortiz, who shot and killed a homeless man in Coney Island Thursday, saying that she was justified in firing at the man who was coming at her while swinging a chair. Paul Browne, spokesman for the department, explained, “Basically, was there an imminent threat to life or serious injury? That is the defining statement.”
More information has been released about Gilberto Blanco, the victim whose identity was at first unclear since had had no identification when the shooting took place. Cops used the cell phone found on his person to call his brother and learn that Blanco was an illegal immigrant who had entered the US last year. His brother told them that after struggling to find work lately, his brother had become depressed and was drinking heavily.
Christopher Dunn, a spokesman for the New York Civil Liberties Union did not sound like the book was shut on the case, saying, "When a guy with nothing more than a chair in his hands ends up dead, that raises lots of questions about the propriety of a police shooting.” Officer Ortiz has been assigned to desk duty after initially being taken to the hospital to be treated for trauma, standard procedures following such an incident.
Tagged
brooklyn
chair
coney island
cop shooting
excessive force
new york civil liberties union
nypd
officer dawn ortiz
shooting
Billy Parker
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 .