NYPD officer Omar Edwards was fatally shot three times on May 28 by another officer while chasing a theft suspect in Harlem. Authorities said Officer Edwards, 25, was shot after he failed to drop his weapon when ordered to by officer who arrived on the scene.
Edwards was clad in street clothes and carrying a handgun as he chased the suspect past a police car. Apparently, the officers did not realize Edwards was a police officer.
On his way out of Housing Bureau Station House on East 124th
Street, Edwards approached his vehicle and saw a man rummaging
through it.He took out his gun and chased the alleged thief, 43-year-old Miguel Santiago, said NYPD
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.
Meanwhile, a police cruiser with a sergeant and two officers, including Officer Andrew Dunton, had just turned onto 125th Street from 1st Avenue. Santiago ran in front of the unmarked vehicle as it approached halfway up the block and the vehicle stopped.
The officer in the front passenger seat got out of the vehicle and shouted for Edwards to stop running and drop his weapon.
According to Kelly, the officers reported that, after the command was
given, Edwards turned toward Dunton with his gun in his hand. 
Dunton fired his Glock 9 mm six times, hitting Edwards once in the left arm, once in the left side and once in the
back, according to police.
When emergency crews responded, they uncovered a police academy T-shirt under Edwards' clothes as well as his police shield and ID in his front left pants pocket.
Edwards, who lived in Brooklyn, was recently married and had two small children, according to CNN affiliate WABC-TV in New York.
Visitor Comments (0)
