Graham Rayman
New York Daily News
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The NYPD on Friday released dramatic body camera footage that shows the moment a Staten Island man pulled out a gun and shot at police officers, sparking a wild gunfight that left the suspect dead and one cop shot in the hand.
The series of four body camera videos, narrated by NYPD Deputy Chief Kevin Maloney, shows the officers arriving at the Prince St. apartment building near Vanderbilt Ave. in Stapleton on Sept. 17.
A woman had filed a domestic violence complaint against suspect Gregory Edwards at the 120th Precinct stationhouse the day before, then called the cops Tuesday morning when she spotted him nearby, police said.
After speaking with her, the cops canvassed the neighborhood looking for Edwards, 39, and saw him sitting on a stoop on Prince St. They called for backup, approached him about 8:45 a.m. and told him he was being arrested.
“Don’t touch me. I’m not going anywhere,” Edwards says in the video.
A woman calls out, “Why you have to come up here bothering him?”
“Listen, we’ve got an open complaint from yesterday,” a female officer says. “I’m trying to explain to you what’s going on.”
“You have to come with us,” another officer says. “You’re under arrest.”
As Edwards struggles with the police, one cop says, “I’m gonna tase him. I’m gonna f------ tase him!” the video shows. One prong of the taser strikes Edwards but the other misses.
Edwards breaks away from the officers, then pulls out a .9 mm Sig Sauer handgun and fires twice, hitting Officer Vanesa Medina in the left hand as people scream and ducked for cover, the video shows. The gun appeared to jam after the first two shots.
One of the officers fired three rounds in return, police said. Two bullets struck Edwards in the back. He died at the scene.
The .9 mm handgun believed to be Edwards’ weapon was found near the tire of a parked car
Medina, a two-year veteran assigned to the 120th Precinct, underwent surgery on her left hand at Staten Island University Hospital North and was released hours later.
Mayor de Blasio spoke glowingly of her at the hospital.
“She is someone who exemplifies the American dream,” he said. “She has applied herself with all her heart to this work protecting others and it’s quite clear how devoted she is to her work and how extraordinary her story is.”
Gregory Edwards had a long rap sheet of violent crime and previously served five years in prison for a Staten Island shooting, the NYPD said. His criminal record dated back to 1999, and included repeat arrests in Miami, sources said.
The NYPD plans to release videos of other police-involved shootings in the coming months and said in a statement Friday that they were “committed to releasing footage of critical incidents captured by body-worn cameras within 30 days, with limited exceptions.”