This news is pretty sad, I can't believe something like that could happen in NYC.
Volunteer officers slain...
Prayers to their families...
2 volunteer police, 2 others die in shootouts in NYC
By Colleen Long, Associated Press | March 15, 2007
NEW YORK --A gunman with a fake beard and carrying 100 rounds of ammunition fatally shot a pizzeria employee and two unarmed volunteer police officers in a trendy Manhattan neighborhood before other officers shot him to death, the mayor said Thursday.
Authorities were still investigating why David Gavin, 32, went into a Greenwich Village pizzeria around 9 p.m. Wednesday, asked for a menu and then shot an employee 15 times in the back before fleeing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik, two of the city's nearly 4,500 auxiliary police officers, responded to the shooting and approached Gavin, who crossed the street and fired at them. Auxiliary officers are civilian volunteers who wear uniforms, are unarmed and help patrol streets.
Gavin then exchanged gunfire with uniformed officers, the mayor said. Several uniformed officers suffered minor injuries.
Authorities recovered the 9mm semiautomatic pistol Gavin fired, plus a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun in a bag with the ammunition, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said. Gavin shot at least 23 rounds.
"He appeared to be ready to take even more lives," Kelly said.
A worker in a nearby restaurant, Nikola Simic, said he saw police officers swarm toward the middle of the street where the auxiliary officers were slain.
"Then we heard a shooting that was like a good five minutes," Simic said.
Police identified the employee as Alfredo Romaro, 35.
Pekearo, 28, was a writer with a book scheduled to be published soon, the mayor said. Marshalik, 19, a student at nearby New York University, had immigrated from Russia, Bloomberg said. The mayor said Marshalik hoped eventually to join the police force.
"Tonight was a horrible night for the New York Police Department and for our city," Bloomberg said. "Two men who volunteered their time to make our city the safest big city in America lost their lives helping to keep it exactly that way."
Marshalik and Pekearo were the first New York City auxiliary police officers to die in the line of duty since 1993, according to the mayor. Only five other auxiliary officers have died in the line of duty in the city's history.
The street where the shooting occurred is located near NYU's downtown campus, close to Washington Square Park and near several famous bars and restaurants, including Cafe Wha?, where Bob Dylan used to perform.
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Posted by: militia_man
Posted by: codefusion
RIP, brothers.
Posted by: Danman
that pisses me off to no end
Posted by: justanotherparatrooper
Rip
Posted by: Danman
and yes RIP
Posted by: USMCMP5811
Rip
Posted by: dave7336
Rest in Peace...
Posted by: PhilipD
What a shame.....would this have happened if they were armed?
Posted by: PBiddy35
RIP, maybe unarmed departments/units will learn from this tragic loss
Posted by: EXTRACOP
What a preventable tragedy! Maybe it will be a heads up to other departments!UNARMED IN NEW YORK??????? Rest in peace brother auxiliaries.</IMG></IMG></IMG>
Posted by: Irishman1
May they both rest in peace and any department that send uniformed officers out in public without the ability to protect themselves or others is crazy. The Quincy Auxiliary Police were eliminated because former Chief Falco wanted all the officers who, were Reserve Academy certified, Firearms trained and qualified,First Responder certified to work the streets with just a radio and no other equipment while in police uniform and driving marked cruisers. The officers refused his order to completely disarm and it was considered a group resignation. The department lost many good men and this situation in New York proves that all police should be prepared to defend themselves when needed in a dangerous world. You never know what you will find. I am glad something like what happened in New York has not happened in Massachusetts. Rest in Peace Brothers and May God keep you all safe.
Posted by: DodgeRam
Auxiliary Officers Know the Limitations, and the Dangers, When They Volunteer By JAMES BARRON and COREY KILGANNON
They carry nightsticks but not guns. They wear uniforms but not bulletproof vests underneath, unless they buy the extra protection on their own. They have police radios that buzz with reports of crimes in progress.
And if they witness such a crime — or, as happened on Wednesday night in Greenwich Village, if they come face to face with a gunman on a rampage — the city’s 4,500 auxiliary police officers are trained to use those radios to call for help. Nothing more. In 64 hours of classroom instruction stretched over several months, these volunteer crime fighters are told to simply wait until full-fledged police officers arrive.
“We tell our people, ‘Don’t get into foot pursuits to apprehend somebody,’ ” said James Mitts, commanding officer of the 125-member auxiliary unit at the 109th Precinct in Flushing, Queens. “We don’t want them walking up to some guy who pulls out a gun and starts shooting.”
But on Wednesday, after killing a bartender in a pizzeria, David R. Garvin walked up to two auxiliary officers on a street corner. Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said yesterday that the two auxiliary officers, Nicholas T. Pekearo, 28, and Yevgeniy Marshalik, 19, ordered Mr. Garvin to drop a bag he was carrying.
Mr. Garvin put the bag down, Commissioner Kelly said, but punched Officer Marshalik in the face, knocking him to the ground for a moment. The two auxiliary officers then chased the gunman along Sullivan Street, Commissioner Kelly said. Within seconds, Mr. Garvin shot Officer Pekearo, who had been with the auxiliary force since 2003 and was wearing a bulletproof vest, at close range, then crossed the street to gun down Officer Marshalik, who joined the auxiliary force about 14 months ago.
They were the seventh and eighth New York City auxiliary officers killed while on duty in the auxiliary force’s half-century history.
It was the kind of deadly confrontation that auxiliary officers — normally deployed to walk neighborhood streets, help with crowd control at Yankee Stadium or at the St. Patrick’s Day parade, or simply serve as an extra set of official-looking eyes and ears — say could happen at any moment.
“We know we’re dealing with situations that are life-threatening,” said Stephen Gruber, 22, an auxiliary officer with the 107th Precinct in Queens. He said that he had “been to two shootouts in four years” but never in the line of fire.
Carlos M. Roche, 18, a high school student who became an auxiliary officer last June, assigned to a transit patrol based at Columbus Circle, said that “we chose to volunteer, to protect the city,” but added, “At the same time, I still get second thoughts when I go outside.”
Commissioner Kelly called the auxiliary force “a very valuable resource” for the Police Department and praised the two slain officers, who will be honored with police funerals. Though auxiliary officers are unpaid, they are considered city employees. The dead auxiliary officers’ families will receive $700 under workers’ compensation rules, according to John W. Hyland, president of the Auxiliary Police Benevolent Association.
“These are true heroes,” Commissioner Kelly said. “They were doing everything we could possibly ask them to do, following their instructions and observing.”
But auxiliary officers say they face the same risks as regular officers without the tools to defend themselves.
“In some ways, it’s more dangerous because we’re not armed,” said Daniel Boyar, 22, an auxiliary officer at the 10th Precinct in the Chelsea section of Manhattan since 2005.
Their uniforms are all but indistinguishable from those worn by regular police officers, and that works both ways. By being visible, they deter criminals, police officials say. But being easily recognized also makes them potential targets.
“These officers were shot at because they were wearing a blue police uniform and a police patch,” said Steven Weiss, director of research for the Officer Down Memorial Page, which lists law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. “The average street criminal on the run has no idea if an officer is auxiliary or not.”
Like Officer Pekearo, some auxiliary officers buy their own safeguards, spending $600 to $700 for bulletproof vests identical to those issued to regular officers (others said they borrow extra vests from the precinct). Officer Pekearo’s vest did stop one bullet, but he was hit six times in the back, shoulder and side, officials said.
Several auxiliary officers said that after about a year of service, they receive a uniform allowance of around $300, but that it is not enough.
“Not a lot of us can afford” a vest, said Mr. Roche, the high school senior assigned to the unit in Manhattan.
Yesterday, State Senator Carl Kruger, a Brooklyn Democrat, urged Commissioner Kelly to supply bulletproof vests to all auxiliary officers, a change that he estimated would cost $3 million. The police commissioner said that he would consider it.
In some precincts, auxiliary officers are a big presence. In the Sixth Precinct, where the shooting occurred, they are used to supplement foot patrols and assigned posts. On Wednesday night, Officer Pekearo and Officer Marshalik were sent to Bleecker and Sullivan Streets.
“We have a direct link to the police, to an ambulance if someone is hurt, and we actually have knowledge of laws,” said Glenn E. Sabas, a sophomore at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an auxiliary officer who was a close friend of Officer Marshalik’s. “We have knowledge of codes and stuff like that.”
But to some civilians, the auxiliary force is a glorified neighborhood watch. In fact, it is a relic of the early days of the cold war, when the city wanted volunteers to lead the way to bomb shelters. The auxiliary force came under the Police Department’s control in the 1960s, officials say.
Nowadays, auxiliary officers must be at least 17 years old and no more than 60. They must put in a certain amount of time each month — for officers, 10 hours, Officer Sabas said. Many young people join as a trial run before entering the Police Academy; others are crime buffs or do-gooders, proud to help protect the streets and eager to be close to the action.
“I wanted to be a cop, I wanted to be a hero, a hero complex kind of thing, and I think he had that,” Officer Sabas said of Officer Marshalik. “One minute he’d be talking about how cops don’t get paid that much, and he’s doing this because he has nothing else to do. The next moment, his true colors would show. He’d start talking about it with a little more passion, like, ‘I’m doing something really good.’
“We were both a little scared, what could happen,” he added. “But I guess we never really thought about it.”
Last night, eight auxiliary officers from the 90th Precinct, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, came to the Sixth Precinct and placed a bouquet of flowers with a black bow and purple sash at the front door. Forming two rows of four, they stood at attention and saluted the bouquet, then lighted a red votive candle beneath it.
Officer Nelida Flores, the auxiliary coordinator for the Sixth Precinct, said of the two slain officers: “They were my guys. I trained them.”
Of Officer Marshalik, who also used the first name, Eugene, she added: “Eugene used to call me ‘Mom.’ I was like a mom to him. He was my kid.”
Posted by: JoninNH
May they Rest in Peace.
Posted by: Portable81
RIP brothers.
Posted by: kwflatbed
2 NYC Auxiliary Police Officers Shot & Killed
New York Shooting Highlights Auxiliary Police
By trade, they are teachers, lawyers, taxi drivers, and students. The unpaid volunteers who patrol the city with seven-point stars and badges reading "Auxiliary Police" pinned to their lapels also are the "eyes and ears" of law enforcement in New York City.
Since 1951, New York's auxiliary police force has worked alongside law enforcement, playing a supporting role as their counterparts make arrests and diffuse criminal activity. Yesterday, the 4,800-member corps, best known for their presence at special events and parades, mourned two of their own - Officers Nicholas Todd Pekearo and Eugene Marshalik were killed on Wednesday night in a Greenwich Village shootout.
The two officers were the seventh and eighth auxiliary officers to die in the line of duty since the corps was established. Initially conceived to support the police in cases of natural disaster or emergency, the force grew in the 1960s and 1970s.
"There was a strong drive by the Lindsay administration to promote membership in the auxiliary police," a police historian, Thomas Reppetto, said. "Crime was a big problem and there were trying to involve citizens in fighting crime." It was not uncommon for prominent members of New York society to volunteer, he said.
In recent years, auxiliary officers have assumed patrol duties, although some are assigned to specialty units, including emergency service, harbor patrol, transit, and vice operations.
Prior to joining the force, auxiliaries undergo 53 hours of training, and commit to working one four-hour shift a week. Many of the officers, who must be between the ages of 17 and 60, volunteer for the 4 p.m. to midnight shift after their day jobs. Dressed in dark blue uniforms much like the NYPD's, they are armed with handcuffs and wooden batons.
The job is underscored by a sense of civic duty. An auxiliary officer in Manhattan, Seth Gilman, 28, joined the force nearly 10 years ago as a student at New York University. "I initially just wanted to do something that was helping other people," Mr. Gilman, who is a teacher at Alfred E. Smith High School in the Bronx, said. " In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Mr. Gilman worked 500 hours, escorting engineers to ground zero and working the security detail in Lower Manhattan.
From a law enforcement perspective, the function of auxiliary officers is crime deterrence. "It allows for a larger presence of people in uniform," a former police officer and a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Eugene O'Donnell, said. However, "if there's a police incident, they are supposed to get the police."
Working on the periphery of law enforcement as such, only six auxiliary police officers were killed in the line of duty before Wednesday's shooting. Prior to that, the most recent line of duty death was Auxiliary Officer Milton Clarke, shot in the Bronx in 1993.
Wednesday's shooting prompted several lawmakers to call for increased funding for bulletproof vests for the auxiliaries, including Rep. Vito Fossella and Sen. Carl Kruger. Auxiliaries must buy their own vests if they choose to wear them. "The tragic murder of these officers highlights the risk every man and woman takes when they put on a uniform," Mr. Fossella said in a statement.
Yesterday, some officers reflected on what it meant to put on the uniform. "I think a lot of us as auxiliaries feel that if we can go out there and make sure someone can go home safely, our jobs are done," Mr. Gilman said. "It's going to be a hard day today and tomorrow," he said.
Story From: The New York Sun
Posted by: sureshot
very sad... RIP
if you really want to feel sick you should take a look at the security camera footage which shows the POS walking over and executing them as they try and hide behind a car for cover
Posted by: 94c
I'm sure that many years ago Auxiliary Police was a good idea.
However, times change and so does the societal attitudes that we as police officers face every day.
Placing men and women, in uniform, on the streets, unarmed, does not work in today's world.
It's just another example of trying to increase visibility at no cost to the city, but at a potential cost to human life.
Posted by: CJIS
Police: NYC Gunman Was Angry at Pizza Restaurant FOX News - 34 minutes ago
AP. March 14: A policeman looks at the body of the unidentified gunman in the street in New York's Greenwich Village. March 14: A policeman looks at the body of the unidentified gunman in the street in New York's Greenwich Village.
Posted by: kwflatbed
Video Shows Greenwich Village Shootings
NEW YORK -- A gunman who killed three people in Greenwich Village Wednesday night was caught on video as he gunned down two volunteer officers, police said.
In the video, narrated by New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly during a press conference, the gunman is seen shooting one of the victims multiple times and then bolting across the street and shooting another victim.
Police said that prior to those killings, the gunman had shot a bartender 15 times before beginning his run through the streets of the trendy neighborhood unaccustomed to such violence.
When it was all over, David Garvin's body lay bloodied and askew outside a shop on Bleecker Street, a gun lying on the sidewalk steps away, according to police.
The 32-year-old had been carrying two semiautomatic firearms and a bag with a fake beard and 100 rounds of ammunition, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
A relative said the gunman who killed three people in New York's Greenwich Village had been having problems.
Kelly said the family member revealed David Garvin had shown a spiraling paranoia in recent years and thought people were "out to get him." Garvin -- a former journalist and former Marine -- had no previous psychiatric history.
Police Thursday said Garvin had been repeatedly kicked out of the restaurant where the shooting began and may have been angry that a friend was fired from the establishment.
Supposedly, Commissioner Kelly is going to look at the feasability of giving Auxiliaries vests. That would be a good first step. My own opinion is that the screening process be made more stringent and arm them. Give them firearms training and pistol licenses. NY is getting worse and worse. Where Auxiliaries are concerned, maybe having them unarmed and unvested was an ok idea in the past, but this incident shows that it's a bad thing. Auxies are volunteers, most with decent jobs. And most wouldn't consider becoming a Police Officer in NYPD due to, among other things, the starting salary. But for those who do volunteer, protection is needed. The gunman didn't know they were Auxiliaries. I'm sure he figured he was shoooting "real" cops.
Posted by: masscopguy
I was a New York City Auxiliary Police Officer from 1990-1992. I walked a 25 to 30 block beat on Manhattan's Upper West Side. On one occasion my partner and I came upon more than one situation that could have resulted a serious injury.
I was young and eager to do something in LE and I loved working with the NYPD and the other APO's. But, as previous posters have said, it is pure negligence to put anyone out in an official police uniform and not provide them with a firearm to protect themselves.
Doing crowd control at a parade on Saturday in July is one thing and walking down a side street in the Bronx at 10:00pm on a Friday night is another.
The City of New York gave both officers an official funeral today and the family will receive $700.00 in benefits.
My heart breaks to see such senseless death, but it also angers me to find that a department such as NYC with the problem it has would alow uniformed unarmed auxiliary. If you are going to have them they should be used like Boston uses their cadets, IN DOORS DOING ADMINISTRATIVE WORK. The streets are for POLICE OFFICERS who can not only defend themselves but can defend others. If the department was making these fine men walk the street to give the appearance of a presence it is criminal. Perhaps they should allow their officers to do paid details, and you would have a presence that can respond at no cost to the city. Or hey better yet, hire and pay your officers a decent salary so you dont run into having to go elsewhere to recruit because your officers are paid almost minimum wage. These men should not be dead, these men should have been trained and armed and have been able to stop that threat. Ofcourse being NY, they would have lived to be sued or put in jail, but since they died, the city will and the sheep there in will say that is what their job is. I pray for their families and may they rest in peace.
Posted by: justanotherparatrooper
why not just paint a bullseye on them? christ, thats screwed up.
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UNARMED IN NEW YORK???????
Rest in peace brother auxiliaries.</IMG></IMG></IMG>
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