What to Know
- An NYPD officer was shot in the leg while executing a warrant in Brooklyn early Friday; the officer is expected to be OK
- A suspect was shot in the arm and is in custody, sources say; authorities say they aren't searching for any additional suspects
- Sources say the suspect had an arrest warrant stemming from a domestic violence robbery; his girlfriend is also known to authorities
An NYPD officer was shot in the thigh when a suspect cops had been looking for on a domestic violence warrant spotted the unmarked car and opened fire in Brooklyn Friday, law enforcement sources familiar with the case and top NYPD officials tell News 4.
Sources say the officer, a seven-year veteran of the force they identified as Miguel Soto, and other members of the warrant squad were driving around Bed-Stuy at 6:30 a.m. and spotted the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Kelvin Stichel, coming out of a house. The suspect saw the cops and started running -- they made a U-turn, eventually got out and started chasing him on foot, authorities said at a late morning news briefing.
The officers identified themselves and asked Stichel, who has multiple prior arrests including for assault on a police officer and domestic violence robbery with a gun, to show his hands. He then started shooting at them on Decatur Street, NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill said.
Police returned fire and hit him one time in the arm. Soto, who earned a medal for valor in a 2013 playground shooting, was hit once in the upper right thigh; O'Neill said the bullet appeared to have passed straight through his leg and that he was conscious and alert while speaking with doctors at the hospital. Soto was released from the hospital early Thursday afternoon — seven hours after taking the bullet. No other cops were shot.
Stichel ran off after the gunfire and was later apprehended in a hallway. O'Neill said the gun was recovered nearby. He estimated the suspect had fired about six shots and that his officers fired "multiple rounds."
O'Neill said the suspect remains at the hospital but is expected to survive. Charges are pending. Stichel was most recently released from jail in May 2014 after serving time for criminal possession of a controlled substance. Before that he served time for attempted robbery.
Sources say both the suspect and the suspect's girlfriend were known to authorities. He had a warrant out for his arrest in connection with an alleged domestic violence robbery; his girlfriend was herself wanted by police for robbery, sources say. Cops came to arrest her several weeks ago, and she pepper-sprayed the officers, sources say. Then she and the boyfriend ran off.
It wasn't immediately clear if a warrant was still out for the girlfriend, whose name has not been released. Authorities say they are not looking for any additional suspects in the shooting. Meanwhile, the NYPD said to expect a heavy police presence in the area near Decatur Street and Tompkins Avenue.
Footage from the scene showed yellow caution tape cordoning off an intersection near a McDonald's as heavily armed officers in SWAT gear stationed themselves outside what appeared to be a multi-story residential building.
Two police SUVs held traffic at the intersection near the Throop Avenue subway stop, which was also enclosed by yellow caution tape. Some commuters appeared confused as they tried to bypass the tape on their way out of the station. C trains have been bypassing that station in both directions because of the investigation, but service did not appear otherwise affected.
