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UPDATE: Police Fatally Shoot Driver, With Off-Duty Cop Sleeping In Backseat
By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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A man was shot on the Grand Central Parkway near the LaGuardia Airport exit earlier this morning, causing major traffic backups. Updates below: Turns out he was killed by the police, who had pulled over his Honda after he was weaving in the lanes and apparently cut off a NYPD ESU vehicle. All eastbound lanes were closed after the shooting, which occurred around 5 a.m., as police headed to the scene. The roads reopened after 6:30 a.m.. However, delays may continue.
According to MyFoxNY, "A male in his 20s was shot in the abdomen at about 5:15 a.m. and rushed to a local hospital." While his injuries were initially believed to be non-life-threatening, 1010 WINS reports that he died.
Police are still investigating the shooting.
Update: Details are starting to emerge about the shooting. Both the Post and Daily News report that the police involved are part of the Emergency Service Unit. According to the News, "A police source said the incident began when the Honda cut off a police Emergency Service Unit vehicle in the eastbound lanes of the parkway by the 94th St. overpass near Exit 7 about 5:05 a.m. The ESU cops, who are members of the apprehension team, tried to pull the Honda over and a confrontation ensued, the source said."
The Post reports, "The officer walked up to the motorist and told him to show his hands, law enforcement sources said. Instead, he reached under a seat, prompting the cop to fire one shot into the driver’s stomach, sources said... Investigators did not immediately find a weapon in the car -- only a power drill."
Two women were also in the car; apparently they told the police that they had been at the Ice Lounge in Astoria.
Update 2: Update: New developments. The woman sitting in the front passenger seat is a bartender at the nightclub and she reportedly said she served drinks to the driver, who NBC New York identifies as Noel Polanco, 22, of Corona, Queens. But it's unclear how much alcohol he consumed and when.
The way City Room describes the confrontation, after the ESU vehicle was hit, two police officers—a sergeant and a detective—approached the car: "The detective was on the passenger side, where the window was open, the police said, and the bartender, who was seated there, told the police she heard the officers tell those inside the car to show their hands… The detective, a 39-year-old officer who joined the force in 1998, fired a single shot that hit the driver, the police said."
Further, the female passenger in the backseat was an off-duty police officer. She said she was asleep and didn't see the confrontation. NBC New York adds, "The passenger in the front seat told police she and Polanco got into an argument because she said he had been driving too fast and swerving."
A friend of Polanco's said he "has been in the U.S. Army for four years and returned from a tour awhile back. He had been working at a Honda dealership detailing cars and planned to leave next weekend for upstate New York."
And here's the police description of what happened:
On Thursday, October 4, 2012 at approximately 0515 hours, members of the Emergency Service Unit Apprehension Team were traveling E/B in the center lane of the Grand Central Parkway in two unmarked vehicles in the vicinity of Exit 7 (LaGuardia Airport), within the confines of the 115 Precinct. The officers observed a black 2012 Honda Fit Hybrid also traveling eastbound in the right lane, driving erratically. The operator of the Honda then cut in between the two unmarked ESU vehicles into the left lane and began to tailgate another car. Unable to pass that vehicle the Honda once again unsafely changes lanes from the left lane in between the ESU vehicles back into the right lane. At this point, a car stop was attempted, with an unmarked van pulling in front of the Honda and the second unmarked van pulling behind it, causing the Honda to pull over.
A Sergeant and a Detective, both in uniform, exited the front vehicle and approached the Honda that was occupied by 1 male driver and two female passengers. The detective discharged 1 round at the driver striking him 1x in the torso. The driver was removed to New York Hospital Queens here he was pronounced dead at 0558 hours.
Tagged
grand central parkway
gun violence
police shooting
queens
shooting
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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