An unidentified rookie NYPD officer shot 18-year-old Akeem Harvey in the face yesterday after the teen ran from officers during a "stop and frisk" outside a corner store in Brownsville. Police sources tell the Daily News that Harvey "acted nervous and kept adjusting his waistband" when police approached him at approximately 2:30 p.m. near Winthrop Avenue and East 93rd Street. Harvey then bolted and started running toward his home, but the police say he "fumbled" and dropped his .357-magnum revolver (pictured, via MyFox NY).
When he picked up the weapon (which was later found to be unloaded), he allegedly pointed it at one of the officers, who fired once. (According to the News, the officer's partner had stopped running to retrieve his fallen cell phone and only caught up to the duo after the shooting.) The bullet hit Harvey in the chin, then traveled to his chest; he was taken to Brookdale Hospital in critical but stable condition, the Post reports.
Neighbors described Harvey as "a good, quiet person" to the Times. But others who spoke to the News characterized Harvey as an unemployed drop-out associated with a local off-shoot of the Crips. And one local resident, a 31-year-old city correction officer, criticized the NYPD for saturating the high-crime neighborhood with inexperienced probationary officers: "These probies need to understand that this is a red zone but we’re not out to kill them."
