The second NYPD sergeant who was shot in Lower Manhattan by an alleged gang member on Aug. 1 finally went home Saturday to the cheers of his family and colleagues.
Sergeant Carl Johnson of the 5th Precinct was wheeled out of Bellevue Hospital at around 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 3, days after undergoing surgery for a bullet wound to his thigh.
NYPD First Deputy Commissioner Tania Kinsella joined a legion of cops outside the medical center located on 27th Street and 1st Avenue in celebration of the release. Also participating was Johnson’s father, who escorted him into the back of an awaiting police van for the ride home.
“I feel good,” Sergeant Johnson told reporters before being whisked away. “A lot better than when I came in. Thanks so much.”
Johnson was allegedly shot by reputed “Up the Hill” street gang member and parolee Joshua Dorsett on Aug. 1, moments after the suspect alleged robbed women’s handbags in a second-floor mahjong parlor on 91 Canal St.
Following a foot chase, police said, Johnson and another sergeant pursued Dorsett to Delancey and Eldridge Streets, where things turned violent.
“When two uniformed sergeants, one from the 5th Precinct and one from the 7th Precinct, stop Dorsett, he begins to pull a loaded firearm out of his front pants pocket. A struggle begins for the possession of the gun between Dorsett and the two sergeants, and a shot is fired by the perpetrator,” Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said. “One sergeant is struck in the groin, and one is struck in the left leg. We have one bullet that hit both cops.”
Both sergeants were rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition while Dorsett was cuffed at the scene and taken to the 5th Precinct for questioning. A loaded handgun was recovered.
Dorsett was slapped with a slew of serious charges including two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, attempted murder while in commission of a crime, criminal possession of a weapon, and five counts robbery.
“I want to thank my brothers and sisters in blue,” Johnson said.
