Ismaaiyl Brinsely (28), the man who shot dead two New York police officers early on Saturday morning, had a “very troubled childhood,” and was known to be violent and suicidal, officials quoting his family said, even as reports emerged that moments before gunned down the unsuspecting cops as they sat in their car he boasted to bystanders, “Watch what I’m going to do!”
The deaths of officers Rafael Ramos (40) and Wenjian Liu (32) in the Bedford-Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn, New York, has reignited the strident debate on law enforcement in the U.S., as it comes in the wake of the police-chokehold death of African American Eric Garner and the shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by a policeman, both incidents that sparked nationwide protests.
The weekend’s violence appeared to have fuelled a backlash against critics of law enforcement tactics, including President Barack Obama, who however was quick to say, that he “unconditionally” condemned the double murder and that “The officers who serve and protect our communities risk their own safety for ours every single day - and they deserve our respect and gratitude every single day.”
After the execution-style killings Brinsley, who is African-American, apparently ran to a nearby subway station and took his own life with a semiautomatic weapon.
The incident also appeared to have sparked a dispute between New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was accused by the police union of stoking tensions after he spoke of his fears for his mixed race son in the aftermath the death of Mr. Garner in New York.
This week the head of the New York City police union was quoted saying that Mr. de Blasio had “blood on his hands,” and former New York governor George Pataki was said to have described the shootings as “a predictable outcome of divisive anti-cop rhetoric,” of the mayor.
However, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton was said to have “strongly rejected” the notion the mayor had increased the risk to police officers by appearing to side with protesters, and he said, “There are a lot of moving currents creating tension and atmosphere.”
