NEW YORK (AP) — A police officer shot and killed a convenience store worker who plowed into him on a sidewalk while frantically fleeing an armed robbery early Friday, a sudden encounter that the police department called a tragic accident.
Three
men taken into custody at the shop after the shooting were charged with
murder, robbery and weapons possession, prosecutors said.
Dramatic
security video released by police shows the uniformed officer, his gun
drawn, positioned outside the Bronx shop's front door moments after a
911 call. In a flash, the store manager rushes out the door. Closely
behind with his head down is Renaldo Cuevas, who runs full speed into the officer, sending both men tumbling to the sidewalk.
A pool of blood appears to form on the ground the instant Cuevas lands on his back. The officer is kneeling and pointing his semiautomatic at Cuevas when the video clip ends.
Investigators
believe the impact of Cuevas running into the officer caused him to
fire one round, striking the 20-year-old victim in the left shoulder,
police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said at a news conference. Cuevas died later at a hospital.
Though
the death appeared to be an accident, the officer was placed on desk
duty pending an investigation, a routine practice for all New York
Police Department shootings. Officials refused to release the name of
the seven-year veteran of the police force.
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