Two police officers in Brooklyn were shot while responding to a call for help at an apartment building on Tuesday afternoon, police confirmed.
The cops were wounded inside a second-floor apartment building at 1969 Bergen St. in Crown Heights during an apparent domestic violence call at around 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 16, according to top cop Edward Caban.
Melvin Butler, 39, who police say has a history of abuse and has served prison time, was allegedly attacking his mother, causing a head injury when cops arrived.
“One sergeant and three police officers from the 73 Precinct responded to the scene and immediately identified the perpetrator,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny explained. “Officers informed Mr. Butler that he was under arrest and asked him to place his hands behind his back. At this time Butler resists and a violent struggle ensues.”
During the wrestling match the suspect purportedly rapidly escalated the situation when he attempted to snatch one of the cop’s firearms. In the seconds that followed two cops were shot as both police and Butler attempted to gain control of the weapon.
One officer reportedly suffered a gunshot wound to the left hand while another cop was struck in the left thigh, Chief Kenny said. Both cops were swiftly whisked to Kings County Hospital, where they are expected to survive.
The force investigation division is reviewing the NYPD body worn cameras to determine exactly how the shots were fired.
“Butler himself is shot multiple times and he’s listed in critical but stable condition,” Chief Kenny added.
Butler was last arrested in February 2023 when he violated an order of protection for domestic violence while in January of the same year, he was cuffed for assault in a domestic violence case, police did not confirm if this was also against his mother.
Butler has six prior arrests in New York and one in North Carolina. The most serious of his crimes took place in 2004 when he was arrested for attempted murder and spent 15 years behind bars in state prison.
Police Commissioner Caban likened this incident to that of the 2022 Harlem domestic violence incident that took the lives of cops Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora.
“Thi swas one of those so-called routine jobs for patrol officers, which is to say there are never routine patrol jobs,” Commissioner Caban said.
One of the injured cops is a 9-year veteran while the other has 16 years on the job.
“This was a horrific incident,” Mayor Eric Adams said speaking from Kings County Hospital.
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