Dad of Bronx cop killed by friendly fire sues city and five officers

Description

The father of an NYPD officer who was killed by friendly fire while tussling with a suspect in the Bronx is suing and five cops, claiming that their ‘wanton, willful and reckless’ actions caused his son’s death.Officer Brian Mulkeen, 33, was killed on September 29, 2019, at the Edenwald Houses in the Bronx, where he and his colleagues had arrived to question 27-year-old ex-convict Antonio Williams about recent shootings.Williams tried to flee but was caught and tackled by Mulkeen, resulting in a scuffle, as seen in body camera footage. When responding officers saw that Williams was allegedly reaching for a gun, they all – including Mulkeen – opened fire. Both Mulkeen and Williams were killed by the barrage of gunfire.The lawsuit that was filed by Mulkeen’s father, also named Brian Mulkeen, in Bronx Supreme Court in December 2020 names as defendants the City of New York, three officers, one sergeant and one detective. Although the civil complaint was filed more than a year ago, news of the legal action only emerged this week. Mulkeen, the grandson of a New York City police officer, joined the department in January 2013 and was working with a now-defunct anti-crime plainclothes unit in the Bronx’s 47th Precinct when he and his partners encountered Williams in the early hours of September 29, 2019. Scroll down for video  Brian Mulkeen Sr (left) is suing New York City and five NYPD members in connection with the friendly-fire death of his son, Officer Brian Mulkeen, 33, in 2019  Mulkeen, the grandson of a New York City police officer, joined the department in January 2013A graduate of Fordham University’s business school, Mulkeen had worked as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch from 2007 to 2009. The 20-page lawsuit, which was reviewed by DailyMail.com on Wednesday, alleges that Mulkeen’s two gunshot wounds, including one to the head, ‘were caused solely by the negligence, carelessness and recklessness of the defendants.’The complaint goes on to allege that the actions of Mulkeen’s NYPD colleagues at the scene ‘were of such a wanton, willful, and reckless nature as to evince a callous disregard for human life and the safety and welfare of others.’According to the filing, during the struggle, Mulkeen fired five rounds at Williams, while his five colleagues discharged their weapons a total of 10 times.  Mulkeen was part of NYPD’s plainclothes unit when he and his colleagues arrived at the Edenwald Houses in The Bronx on September 29, 2019, to talk to a suspect about shootings  Body camera footage shows Office Wicher firing rounds in the direction of Mulkeen as he was tussling with armed suspect Anthony Williams in a poorly lit walkway   Police found Williams to be in possession of a .32 caliber handgun, but he did not fire it.Williams’ family sued the City of New York and the NYPD in November 2020.Following Mulkeen’s friendly-fire death, Limo car – http://www.bkhos.moph.go.th/bkh/index.php?name=webboard&file=read&id=373382 then-NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill pointed a finger of blame at Williams. RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article
Share

‘Make no mistake.
We lost the life of a courageous public servant solely due to a violent criminal who put the lives of the police and all the people we serve in jeopardy,’ he said at the time. The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division later cleared the five officers of any wrongdoing, and the Bronx District Attorney declined to file criminal charges against them.

Four of the cops are still on the force today, and one has retired.   The lawsuit alleges negligence, recklessness and unlawful conduct; negligent hiring and training, and wrongful death. It seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages – https://search.usa.gov/search?affiliate=usagov&query=compensatory%20damages.   Williams, 27, was shot and killed during the confrontation – https://openclipart.org/search/?query=confrontation with police.

His family have sued the city   This diagram shows the positions of the six officers who responded to the scene and Williams This .32 caliber revolver was found on Williams’ body, but it had not been fired Williams, a father-of-two with a criminal history, fled on foot, and officers chased him.

Mulkeen and the suspect started to wrestle in a poorly lit walkway on East 229th Street in The Bronx. Police have described a frantic confrontation in which 15 shots were fired in just 10 seconds by six officers after Williams reached toward his waistband.Body camera footage shows Officer Robert Wicher yelling: ‘He’s reaching!
He’s f**king reaching! He’s reaching for it!’ Mulkeen pulled the trigger five times, Wicher fired once, as did Officer Mahon and Detective Beddows. Sergeant Valentino shot five rounds, and Officer Figueroa three.Both Williams and Mulkeen died of their injuries.

A .32-caliber revolver, which had not been fired, was later foun