A frisking turned fatal last night in Harlem. Plainclothes police officer Robert Tejada and three other officers were investigating reports of a man with a gun at Cafe 22 on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, near 136th Street. The NYPD says the officers identified themselves and searched a man. When Tejada was patting him down and found a gun, the suspect took out the gun and shot the cop twice, once in the ankle and once grazing Tejada's stomach.
Two of the other officers fired back at the man, Corey Mickins, and hit him at least four times. Mickins died two hours later at Harlem Hospital Center; he reportedly had a criminal history. Tejada (pictured) was taken to New York-Presbyterian as well and underwent surgery; the mayor, who visited, said, "He's in some pain, but he's doing fine." Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Tejada's bullet proof vest may have saved his life.
Mickins' mother, though, is saying the police used excessive force in trying to subdue her son. His father told WABC 7 that Mickins "was hanging on the corner at 136th Street. Police came up. They started checking him and pushing him around. He ran away, and they started shooting at him after he ran. I guess he returned fire."
