Police officers stand near a crime scene where a police officer was shot in the Cypress Hills section of the Brooklyn borough of New York, Monday, Dec. 12, 2011. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Four suspects involved in the Brooklyn burglary that led to the death of a New York Police Department officer early Monday morning have been arrested, NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly told “Good Day New York.”
Kelly said the suspects will be charged with second-degree murder, after Peter Figoski, 47, was shot in the face while investigating the a burglary. Among those arrested is 27-year-old alleged gunman Lamont Pride. One of the suspects arrested includes a man that police caught on surveillance tape walking down a Brooklyn street after the incident.
The commissioner added that a fifth person may be charged.
Figoski, of West Babylon, was described as a decorated officer who had more than 200 arrests during his 22-year career in the NYPD. He was also issued 12 medals over that time.
“He really loved working,” Kelly said, “in probably one of the most challenging commands in the city,” in East New York.
This undated NYPD photo shows Officer Peter Figoski. (AP Photo/NYPD)
The divorced officer leaves behind four daughters, two of which were studying at separate State University of New York colleges when Figoski was shot.
Figoski and his partner were responding to a burglary in progress at a basement apartment in the East New York section of Brooklyn after the building owner called 911 around 2:15 a.m.
When Figoski and his partner arrived at the scene, Figoski walked into the apartment and came upon two suspects who were trying to flee through the front. That’s when Figoski was shot once in the face, by Pride, police said.
Figoski’s partner, Glenn Estrada, was involved with another suspect outside the apartment when he heard the shot go off and chased after the suspect before capturing him.
A semi-automatic pistol was found underneath a car near where Pride was arrested, police said. One round was discharged, but the gun jammed, preventing anymore shots from being fired.
Kelly said the person inside the apartment was selling marijuana and had money, adding that the suspects planned to rob the drug dealer inside the house.
Figoski was taken to the hospital where he died just five hours later. He never regained consciousness, Kelly said. New York State Police transported Figoski’s two daughters from upstate New York by helicopter to Albany, and then they were put on a plane to John F. Kennedy Airport.
“He was a terrific cop,” Kelly said. “All his fellow officers said terrific things about him. It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy.”
Figoski is the second NYPD officer to die in the line of duty this year.
-With Associated Press
