NYPD officer heard saying 'there’s one less a**hole to sue us' as he watches suspect being shot dead
A New York Police Department officer was reportedly caught on video saying "there's one less a**hole to sue us" as he watched a helicopter footage showing a masked Brooklyn gunman dying after being shot by fellow officers.
In the aerial video, the suspect, who is identified by police as Bloods gang member, Brandon Clayton, can be seen struggling on the ground in the backyard of a Brownsville home after a gun battle with police officers, according to The New York Post.
The officer, in another video, can be heard chuckling while watching the footage, as he says "Boom" after the suspect is shot dead. The officer was reportedly recording the NYPD aviation footage of the incident from a screen when he made the controversial comment, a police source told the outlet. The source added that the particular video has been making its way around the police department.
Meanwhile, an NYPD spokesperson commented on the video, saying: "The NYPD is aware of the video and it is under review."
The suspect in the aerial footage, identified as 29-year-old Clayton, was killed early on Monday in a fierce gunfight involving seven police officers. The gunbattle began after he reportedly shot at a patrol car.
NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said that Clayton was wearing a mask when officers on patrol near Howard and Dumont avenues attempted to confront him at around 2:30 a.m.
The 29-year-old reportedly took off, running toward a Howard Avenue residence and, moments later, fired multiple rounds at the officers’ squad car. The suspect reportedly fled after officers returned the gunfire, however, he appeared on police radar nearly 30 minutes later when a local resident alerted the authorities that a man was trying to breaking into a backyard on Howard Avenue.
"As uniformed patrol officers gained entry to the back yard, they were fired upon numerous times and exchanged gunfire with the perpetrator,” the Chief of Department said. Claymont was eventually taken down by the officers and was later pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, reports state.