Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Retired Cop At Friendly Fire Shooting Was "Barking Orders"
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2011
Modified Mar 16, 2011
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
John Del Signore
Published Mar 16, 2011
Modified Mar 16, 2011
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 retired NYPD sergeant who allegedly shouted "Gun!" moments before a Long Island plainclothes cop was shot dead by an MTA officer has been identified as John B. Cafarella by the head of the Nassau Police Benevolent Association. Cafarella, 58, lives nearby and was reportedly driving by moments after Nassau police fatally shot an emotionally disturbed man in his house. A police source tells the Daily News that Cafarella pulled over and stationed himeself on the front lawn "barking orders, even though he had no role or business being there."
About 10 minutes later, Geoffrey Breitkopf, an on-duty Nassau County plainclothes cop, arrived with his partner in an unmarked car. After conferring with officers on the street outside the house, Breitkopf walked up to Anthony DiGeronimo's home with his M-4 rifle pointing down. Someone shouted "gun!" and moments later an MTA cop fatally shot Breitkopf; investigators are questioning Cafarella to determine if he was the one who yelled the fateful word. Police have not said that they intended to charge anyone with a crime, the Times reports.
Breitkopf’s funeral will be held at St. Margaret of Scotland Roman Catholic Church in Selden, N.Y., at 12:30 p.m. Friday. Over on the insidery NYPD Rant message board, there's a lot of discussion about the tragedy, and boy howdy are they pissed at the Nassau PBA chief for identifying Cafarella. One writes, "This PBA guy has some balls blaming other COPS for being there. In fact, it's absolutely DISGRACEFUL that he would even THINK that... Why doesn't he blame Andy-Boy's daddy for letting all these EDPs walk the streets with impunity, rather than keeping them in confinement? I guess politics are more important than protecting your own."
Meanwhile, the father of Anthony DiGeronimo, who allegedly rushed at officers with a raised knife, is excoriating the police for killing his son. "A bullet to the leg. Something, anything except killing the little boy in front of me when I asked them not to," David DiGeronimo tells Newsday. "If he has to be arrested, we'll deal with that, but to empty... guns into him—no reason for that. If I have a knife and you have a gun, you shoot me in the leg." Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith explains, "Officers aren't taught to shoot to kill. They are taught to shoot to stop, and the way to learn to do that is shoot for the center of the mass, and that's the center of the torso."
Tagged
friendly fire
Geoffrey Breitkopf
John Cafarella
long island
MTA
nassau county police department
nypd
shooting
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Queens man found dead, police say, and injured woman is his mother, neighbors say
Police are investigating a related incident in which a 62-year-old woman was found injured beneath the Van Wyck Expressway.
By
Charles Lane
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 7:39 p.m. ET
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
News
Man shot by ICE in NYC's Marble Hill said federal officers never identified themselves
The wounded man said he didn't learn ICE agents were involved until he woke up in the hospital.
By
Arya Sundaram
and
Samantha Max
Brooklyn school dean says MTA officers assaulted him over a $3 bus fare he says he paid
By
Carol Chen
National Grid customers in NYC will see higher gas bills this winter
By
Rosemary Misdary
Bruce Blakeman joins Gov. Hochul in support for expanding NY rape law
By
Jon Campbell
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 .