NYPD Officer Shot in Bushwick Heroin Bust 'May Have Been Hit by Police Crossfire'

Photo courtesy of Shawn Forno/Twitter

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BUSHWICK, BROOKLYN — Police sirens filled the air in Williamsburg and Bushwick early Tuesday evening as cops responded to reports of a fellow officer shot around 6:15 p.m. at Wilson Avenue and Troutman Street.

The officer, a plainclothes detective assigned to Brooklyn North Narcotics, was hit once in the shoulder while attempting to arrest three individuals allegedly involved in a heroin sale inside a vehicle on Troutman, police said.

The detective was transported to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens in stable condition, a police spokesman told Patch.

The New York Post called the shooting a "buy-and-bust gone awry."

Four shots were fired during the encounter, officials said at the press conference.

"Based on the position of the two officers, it appears that the detective may have been hit by police crossfire," First Deputy Commissioner Benjamin B. Tucker said.

As of 10:30 p.m., one suspect involved in the alleged heroin sale and shootout was under arrest and being treated for gunshot wounds to the leg and wrist at Elmhurst; another was under arrest but unhurt; and a third was still on the loose, an NYPD spokeswoman told Patch.

Below is the NYPD's full sequence of events Tuesday night, as relayed by Tucker.

A sergeant and detective approached the vehicle on foot from each side, identifying themselves as police. The suspects’ vehicle backed up, striking a police vehicle.

The detective reached into the vehicle from the passenger side and attempted to make an arrest. With the detective partially inside the vehicle, the driver then accelerated forward. At this point the sergeant and the detective both fired.

The suspects’ vehicle fled a short distance until it struck another vehicle and stopped.

Both suspects were taken into custody.

Tucker said the detective was "stable, awake, and alert, and, all things considered, in good spirits." He also thanked Elmhurst Hospital staff for their care — "particularly Doctor Raju and the trauma team."

One neighbor said the crime scene was crawling with police for hours after the shooting.

Troutman Street resident Braden Campbell said a helicopter was shining a spotlight onto the street around 7:15 p.m., and that "a bunch of unmarked cars" were turning onto Troutman.

Police taped off the street, Campbell said, and wouldn't let him and other residents back into their homes. They were still waiting outside the police tape at 8 p.m.

By 8:40 p.m., Campbell tweeted, the NYPD had set up a "mobile command post" at the scene. And by 9:10 p.m., he'd been waiting to get home so long that he went to get a beer at a local bar.

Mayor Bill De Blasio released the following statement late Tuesday night.

“Tonight’s shooting is an important reminder of the critical and dangerous work our police department does each day. Today, a detective put his life on the line as he bravely performed his duty to protect our city and its residents from harm. The team of police officers involved in tonight’s incident represents the best of the NYPD, and I want to thank them on behalf of our city for their actions tonight. We’re grateful the detective is doing well, and we wish him a safe and swift recovery.”

A police manhunt for a third suspect in the alleged heroin-bust-gone-wrong was still underway at 10:30 p.m.

Additional reporting by John V. Santore