NYPD Takes 3 Months To Classify Homeless Man's Death A Homicide

GRAMERCY, NY — The NYPD has officially classified the brutal murder of a homeless man in Kips Bay a homicide three months after he was killed, according to a police spokeswoman.

Officers responded to a 911 call of a man being assaulted at E. 27 St. and First Avenue at 8:52 p.m. on Aug. 30. When they arrived, first responders informed them that Harmeet Oberoi, 47, had trauma to his head and body and was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, police said.

The homeless man was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital on Sept. 2 after fighting for his life for three days, authorities said. Only days after the crime police arrested Joshua Sutherland, 42, and Ernesto Aparicio, 58, for Oberoi's death and charged both men with murder, according to police.

Town & Village newspaper, which covers a stretch of Manhattan's East Side, reported at the time that a witness told police Sutherland and Aparicio — both of whom are homeless — repeatedly kicked and punched Oberoi, who appeared to be lying unconscious on a park bench.

Police said Oberoi's cause of death was blunt force trauma and that he suffered multiple fractures to his face, neck and ribs.

Sutherland was arrested on Sept. 3 at 10 p.m. and Aparicio was cuffed just after midnight on Sept. 5. Both men were charged with murder for Oberoi's death in the 13th Precinct's Gramercy station house.

But the NYPD only officially classified Oberoi's death a homicide as of Nov. 30 — some three months after the attack. An NYPD spokesman said it is unclear why the death was only now deemed a homicide.

Two officers with the precinct were awarded the title of Cops of the Month at a community council meeting on Sept. 25 for their work in apprehending the suspects, Town & Village reported.

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