No charges will be filed against five NYPD cops who opened fire during a 2019 gun-stop, leaving a suspect and an officer dead on the grounds of a housing project, The Bronx DA announced on Friday.
Antonio Williams, 27, and Det. Brian Mulkeen, 33 — the victim of “friendly fire” — died during an eight-second barrage of more than a dozen police rounds, DA Darcel D. Clark said in clearing the department of criminal culpability.
Still, “the loss of life here presents serious concerns about the NYPD’s use of force, defensive tactics and tactical trainings in their interactions with the public and incidents of ‘friendly fire,’” Clark wrote.
“This was a singular tragedy that unfolded in seconds and left two men dead and two families with a lifetime of sorrow,” Clark said in a statement.
“It stemmed from the proliferation of guns and gun violence. Detective Mulkeen was dedicated to getting firearms off the streets of the Bronx.”
The gunfire started after Williams fled from Mulkeen and his fellow patrolmen, leading to a chase.
Mulkeen caught up first, grabbing Williams, who was on probation for a drug arrest. As the two wrestled, Williams appeared to reach into his own waistband, Clark’s report said.
“He’s reaching for it!” Mulkeen can be heard shouting on police body camera footage from the scene. “He’s reaching for it!” Mulkeen repeated moments before the barrage was unleashed.
Williams did possess a loaded .32-caliber revolver, which was not fired, the DA’s report found.
An attorney for Williams’ family — which has sued over his death — complained that he was the victim of an illegal stop, and that officers failed to provide the dying man with medical care.
With Post wires.
