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NYPD Cop Suspended Over Response to Deadly Ax Attack Resigns

Two NYPD officers were suspended for allegedly failing to take "appropriate action" at the bloody scene. One of the officers remains suspended without pay, according to police

What to Know

  • One of two NYPD officers suspended for failing to take "appropriate action" at the scene of an ax murder has resigned, sources say
  • Jerry Brown, 34, allegedly came to the Bushwick Houses home with an ax last month and attacked two women, killing one of them
  • The other NYPD officer involved in the incident remains suspended without pay, according to police

One of the two NYPD officers suspended for allegedly failing to take "appropriate action" at the bloody scene where a young woman was hacked to death by an alleged ax-wielding murderer has resigned, law enforcement sources say. 

Jerry Brown, 34, allegedly stormed into the Bushwick Houses last month and attacked his 4-year-old daughter's mother, Angela Valle, and the woman's friend, Savannah Rivera, with an ax after an argument escalated, killing Rivera and leaving Valle in critical condition. 

Sources told News 4 EMS officers who encountered Valle bleeding in the street after the attack told the two responding NYPD cops Valle had said her friend was likely dead and that her 4-year-old daughter was still in the apartment.

The EMS officers told them she begged them to go get her baby. 

The two cops said the case fell within NYPD housing's jurisdiction; they radioed in an "assault from the past" with a possible knife, but didn't mention the child, the ax or the possibly dead woman at the scene, the sources said.

Law enforcement sources on Thursday said the male officer involved in the incident — who was suspended without pay — submitted his resignation. The female officer remains suspended without pay, according to police. 

Sources told News 4 that when a police supervisor arrived, the cops didn't share the information EMS had told them, according to the sources. They didn't go upstairs to the apartment, remaining down by the entrance for nearly an hour.

The 4-year-old girl was left alone in the bloody apartment with Rivera's body for that duration, the sources said. She ultimately wasn't hurt but was taken to a hospital for evaluation. 

Another law enforcement source tells News 4 the officers gave "partial information" to other cops who responded and left, making no attempt to do an investigation and clear the scene or notify a supervisor. 

The NYPD previously confirmed the two officers were suspended, saying in a statement, "The Brooklyn North Investigations Unit has reviewed the response and actions of two officers from the 83 precinct in this incident, and both are suspended for failure to take appropriate action."

The attack left Rivera nearly decapitated, with multiple fingers severed, sources previously said. Valle was hospitalized with severe injuries. 

Police recovered the ax from the building’s compactor room. It’s believed Brown may have thrown the ax down the trash chute. He was arrested on charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder, as well as two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. 

Brown was sent to a hospital for a psychological evaluation. It wasn't immediately clear when he would be arraigned, nor was it known if he had an attorney.

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