Rookie NYPD police officer murdered in sudden ambush-style attack, second officer left in critical condition



One New York City police officer was killed and another was critically injured after they were ambushed "suddenly" and "without warning" while responding to a domestic call Friday night.

What are the details?

Officers Jason Rivera, 22, and Wilbert Mora, 27, were dispatched to an apartment in Harlem after the resident called 911 and reported a domestic incident. The caller said she was fighting with her son, and she allegedly told dispatchers that no weapons were in the house.

When officers arrived on scene, the women told officers the fighting incident happened in a back bedroom. According to officials, once the officers approached the room, the occupant, 47-year-old Lashawn McNeil, opened the door and began firing on officers. Both officers were struck by the gunfire.

“He suddenly, without warning, opened fire on them,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell told media, the New York Post reported.

Rivera died from his injuries, while Mora was left in critical condition. Rivera was described as a rookie cop who joined the force in 2020. Mora, meanwhile, joined the force in 2018.

The officers became the third and fourth victims of gunfire against NYPD officers this week, according to the New York Times.

What happened to McNeil?

After gunning down the officers, McNeil attempted to leave the apartment, but was shot by a third officer. McNeil was shot in the arm and head, and he was taken to a local hospital where he underwent surgery for his injuries.

According to the New York Post, investigators recovered a Glock .45 pistol that allegedly had been reported stolen out of Baltimore.

What did officials say?

Sewell expressed anger over what happened.

"I am struggling to find the words to express what we are enduring, we're mourning and we're angry," Sewell said, WABC-TV reported. "The pain their families are experiencing is not something anyone can put into words. The three officers who arrived at that scene were doing their jobs."

Mayor Eric Adams (D), meanwhile, called the ambush-style attack an attack on the entire city.

"It is our city against the killers, this was just not an attack on three brave officers, this was an attack on the city of New York — it is an attack on the children and families of this city," Adams said.

NYPD officers identified after 1 killed, 1 injured in Harlem shooting www.youtube.com

NYPD chief blasts new far-left Manhattan DA over progressive policies, expresses concern for officer safety



Keechant Sewell, the new commissioner of the New York Police Department, expressed concern for the safety of her officers after new Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg outlined a progressive approach to crime.

What is the background?

Bragg released his “Day One” memo last Monday outing his vision for criminal prosecution in Manhattan.

The memo instructs prosecutors to stop prosecuting many low-level crimes, reduce charges for certain crimes, and advises against pursuing "a carceral sentence" — unless required by law — for crimes other than homicide, serious violent felony crimes "in which a deadly weapon causes serious physical injury," domestic violence felonies, certain sex offenses, public corruption cases, and other white-collar crime.

The policies were described as "insane" and the "wholesale usurpation of the criminal code."

What did Sewell say?

The new NYPD chief, the first woman to hold the position, sent a memo to NYPD officers late Friday night explaining her concerns with Bragg's vision.

"As you all have likely heard by now, this week, the Manhattan District Attorney made public new policies about what charges the office would decline to prosecute and or downgrade. I have studied these policies and I am very concerned about the implications to your safety as police officers, the safety of the public and justice for the victims," she said, WNBC-TV reported.

"I believe in criminal justice reform. I believe in reform that make sense when applied collaboratively," Sewell explained. "In that same vein, I am concerned about sweeping edicts that seem to remove discretion, not just from police officers, but also from Assistant District Attorneys regarding what crimes to prosecute and how to charge them."

Regarding Bragg's plan to stop charging cases of resisting arrest and obstruction, Sewell questioned how police officers can safely do their jobs "if individuals are allowed to interfere with impunity."

"If a person can get away with violating the law, not complying with a police officer’s direction and physically resisting the officer’s attempts to arrest them, what message are we sending? Interactions between officers and the public will needlessly escalate because the incentive to cooperate (i.e. accountability) is entirely eliminated from the equation," she said.

Sewell also warned that Manhattan will have "more open-air drug markets and drug use" because of Bragg's lenient plan for drug offenses.

How did Bragg respond?

Bragg released a statement that said dialogue between his office and the NYPD is already ongoing, but did not say anything more.

"We share Commissioner Sewell's call for frank and productive discussions to reach common ground on our shared mission to deliver safety and justice for all and look forward to the opportunity to clear up some misunderstandings," the statement said. "This conversation, that has already started, is best done directly and not through the media."

New York mayor-elect and his choice for NYPD commissioner appeared at press conference in front of a mural that includes convicted murderer Assata Shakur



At a news conference on Wednesday, New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams and Keechant Sewell, the woman he has selected to serve as police commissioner, appeared in front of a mural that included depictions of several figures, including Assata Shakur, according to Newsday.

The FBI says that Assata Shakur is one of multiple aliases for Joanne Deborah Chesimard, who was convicted of murder, but escaped from prison.

Eric Adams\u2019 new NYPD commissioner is being appointed in front of a mural featuring Malcolm X, Nat Turner, Angela Davis, Huey Newton and Assata Shakur.pic.twitter.com/TshnCS3U31
— Matthew Chayes (@Matthew Chayes) 1639576898

According to the FBI, Chesimard and two other individuals were stopped by authorities for a motor vehicle violation in 1973, but they shot at the officers.

"At the time, Chesimard was wanted for her involvement in several felonies, including bank robbery. Chesimard and her accomplices opened fire on the troopers. One trooper was wounded and the other was shot and killed execution-style at point-blank range. Chesimard fled the scene, but was subsequently apprehended. One of her accomplices was killed in the shoot-out and the other was also apprehended and remains in jail," the FBI notes.

"In 1977, Chesimard was found guilty of first degree murder, assault and battery of a police officer, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with intent to kill, illegal possession of a weapon, and armed robbery. She was sentenced to life in prison. On November 2, 1979, Chesimard escaped from prison and lived underground before being located in Cuba in 1984. She is thought to currently still be living in Cuba," according to the FBI.

The news conference was located at Queensbridge Houses. Sewell lived there for several years during her childhood, according to the New York Daily News.

Sewell will make history as the first woman to serve as NYPD commissioner.