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NYPD officers shot man in Bronx after his father called 311 for help with mental health crisis
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Mar 27, 2023
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Bahar Ostadan
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Bahar Ostadan
Published Mar 27, 2023
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Santo de la Cruz called 311 Sunday morning seeking medical intervention for his 42-year-old son, who he said was in the midst of a schizophrenic episode. Within minutes, his son was lying outside of the Bronx apartment building where his family lives, shot by officers responding to the call, de la Cruz told Gothamist.
The son, Raul de la Cruz, was in critical condition at St. Barnabas Hospital on Monday. Santo said doctors gave him a slim chance of survival.
The pair had gotten into an argument earlier in the morning on Sunday after Raul posted a video online goading police, who he thought were out to get him, the elder de la Cruz said in an interview Monday afternoon.
“I told them [311] that I called them instead because I didn’t want something bad to happen,” de la Cruz recounted in Spanish, noting that his son would sometimes yell at people in public, provoking them when he was off of his medication. “I told them I didn’t want him to do anything bad or for him to end up killed. That’s what I told 311.”
Raul's dad said he called 311, asking to speak to someone in Spanish. He asked for medical authorities to commit Raul before something went awry.
NYPD officials said on Sunday the father called 911, but a review of Santo’s phone logs shows he only called the city’s non-emergency 311 line on Sunday morning. The call lasted 23 minutes.
A dispatcher for 311 told Gothamist that reports of someone in a mental health crisis with a weapon are automatically routed to the police. She said the NYPD then decides who gets dispatched.
Before the call was over, Santo, 67, said two white police officers arrived at his building on the Grand Concourse in Kingsbridge, yelling instructions at Raul in English. But Raul does not understand English, according to his dad and sister.
Raul asked, “Que pasa?” according to his dad, before pulling out a knife and approaching the officers.
The officers yelled at Raul in English to stop and drop the knife, firing four shots, Santo said. Three hit Raul, including once in the leg and others in the torso, Santo said.
Raul was shot down in a scene that lasted 28 seconds, according to Chief Patrol John Chell. Chell said the bodycam footage capturing the shooting was under investigation.
“I thought they killed him…I didn’t call for them to kill him,” Santo said on Monday in Spanish.
It was only after his son was shot that Spanish-speaking NYPD officers arrived on the scene, questioning Santo in his native language, he said.
“We spoke with the doctor yesterday and he told us that [Raul] had a 10% chance of survival and he didn’t think he would make it through the night,” Santo said. “Today, they have not given us any type of information.”
Santo said he hasn’t been allowed to visit his son at St. Barnabas Hospital, where he’s being treated.
Gothamist confirmed with a hospital clerk that Raul is under police custody and that NYPD officers have jurisdiction over who enters and exits his hospital room.
“Our hands are tied,” the clerk said.
The shooting came less than four months after Mayor Eric Adams issued a directive to allow emergency responders to involuntarily transport mentally ill people to hospitals.
“One officer involved in yesterday’s incident was CIT [Crisis Intervention Team] trained and both officers were trained in responding to people in crisis as well as the response to Voluntary/Involuntary removals,” a spokesperson for the NYPD said in a statement to Gothamist.
The spokesperson said the “incident remains under investigation by the Force Investigation Division.”
“NYPD officers receive significant training on encounters with those experiencing mental illness...Recruits at the Police Academy are taught about mental illness, how to recognize mental illness, effective communication, and proper tactics,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Gothamist.
Raul de la Cruz.
Courtesy de la Cruz's family.
The mayor's office did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
Santo said bullet wounds left Raul with perforated intestines. He said doctors also removed one of Raul’s kidneys on Sunday, and that a bullet ripped an artery in his leg.
Raul has battled mental illness for more than a decade, said Santo.
"He's a calm person. If you saw him — even with his illness — you would never think he was sick," Santo said of his son. “He was under treatment... But he’s an Evangelical, they don’t believe in that sort of thing. He stopped his treatment and changed his phone so his doctor wouldn’t reach him.”
Raul emigrated to the Bronx from the Dominican Republic 14 years ago, Santo said. Within three years, he grew distant from the family and was living between rented rooms and the street, becoming increasingly engrossed with evangelism.
Before the shooting on Sunday, Raul was working at a factory in Queens and was usually steadily employed, according to his father. Gothamist reviewed a copy of his paycheck provided by family members, which showed he earned nearly $4,000 since the start of the year. Raul used the income to rent rooms, his dad said.
Raul arrived at his dad’s apartment on Sunday for a shower, part of his weekly routine since living on the street, Santo said. He described his son as passive and quiet when he was not in crisis.
“I want justice. They weren’t supposed to come and shoot him like that. I didn’t go asking for help just for him to get killed.”
Josefa Velásquez contributed reporting.
Tagged
crime
new york city
bronx
Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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