NYPD Cop Charged With Attempted Murder For BK Nightclub Shooting: DA

BROOKLYN, NY — A longtime NYPD officer has been charged with attempted murder after he shot a man outside a Brooklyn nightclub earlier this year, according to prosecutors.

Larry Valdemar — a 16-year veteran of the department most recently assigned to Queens' 104th Precinct — is accused of punching, pistol-whipping and shooting the 32-year-old man outside Chloe’s Restaurant and Lounge in Canarsie after a late-night argument in the bar, prosecutors said.

Valdemar, who was off duty at the time, was charged with attempted murder, assault and reckless endangerment for the April 18 shooting, prosecutors announced Monday.

“After a review of all the evidence in this case, a Grand Jury returned an indictment charging this defendant with attempted murder and other charges," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. "The fact that this defendant is a police officer makes his alleged actions all the more shocking. We will now seek to hold him accountable for his actions.”

Investigators say Valdemar, 37, became enraged with the 32-year-old man when he tried to stop an argument between the off-duty cop and someone else inside the club, which sits on Avenue L near East 94th Street, prosecutors said.

The NYPD vet decided to wait outside of the bar until the 32-year-old man left, following him and others to the street corner as they walked by just before 1 a.m., prosecutors said.

At the street corner, Valdemar punched the 32-year-old in the face, according to prosecutors. When his victim tried to hit him back, Valdemar took out a gun from his waistband, pistol-whipped the man in his upper back and let out a single shot, according to prosecutors.

The 32-year-old was taken to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm and a graze wound on his back, according to prosecutors and reports from the time.

Investigators later found a casing matching Valdemar's pistol at the scene, prosecutors said.

Valdemar was still a member of the NYPD but had been suspended without pay as of Monday afternoon, a police spokesperson told Patch.

He was ordered held on $35,000 bail and will return to court in July. Prosecutors said he could face a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.