What to Know
- Officer Dalsh Veve was dragged by a car in 2017 and was in critical condition for months
- He and other officers were responding to a call of shots fired, which turned out to be fireworks going off
- Veve was dragged for two-and-a-half blocks; he was released from a New Jersey rehabilitation center in May
A teenager accused of critically injuring an NYPD police officer by dragging him in a stolen car has been convicted of assault.
Seventeen-year-old Justin Murrell had been charged with attempted murder but he was acquitted of that charge by a Brooklyn jury on Monday.
Prosecutors say Murrell was sitting in a parked car when he was approached by NYPD Detective Dalsh Veve last June in East Flatbush. They say Murrell sped away with the officer hanging onto the side for several blocks. The officer hit his head and suffered permanent brain damage.
Murrell's attorney says he didn't intend to hurt the officer. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he's sentenced Jan. 7.
Local
PBA president Patrick Lynch urged the maximum sentence.
NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill said in a tweet said members of the department are "disappointed" in the attempted murder acquittal.
"Such a verdict would have provided greater justice for Dalsh and his family, whose lives have been forever altered in service to our city," O'Neill said in the tweet.
