Off-duty cop killed by burglars; What went wrong?

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Off-duty cop killed by burglars; former 'Sopranos' actor a suspect


BY VERENA DOBNIK

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — An off-duty police officer was killed today in a gunfight with two burglars outside his home, and authorities said an actor from "The Sopranos" was a suspect.


Daniel Enchautegui, 28, a three-year veteran, was pronounced dead at a hospital following the 5:15 a.m. shooting, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

He was the second officer to die in the line of duty in two weeks.

"This is a loss to the department and the city," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who joined Kelly at the hospital. "We now have another life to mourn, taken from us for no sensible reason."

The officer had returned to his Bronx home after finishing a late shift when he heard breaking glass in an unoccupied house next door, Kelly said. The officer first called his landlord, then called 911 to report a possible burglary.

The officer grabbed his off-duty weapon and went outside to investigate. His landlord heard Enchautegui shout, "Police! Don't move!", followed by the sound of gunfire, Kelly said.

The officer was struck once in the chest with a bullet from a .357-caliber revolver. Before collapsing in the driveway of the home, he returned fire and struck both of the suspects — one was hit twice, the other four times.

One of the suspects was identified by police as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who also appeared in several episodes of "The Sopranos" as Matt Bevilacqua, a mob wannabe who eventually was murdered. He made his debut in the Robert De Niro-directed film "A Bronx Tale" back in 1993.

Brancato was arrested in June for criminal possession of a controlled substance.

A police car on routine patrol arrested Brancato as he was getting into a car, police said. The second suspect, Steven Armento, was arrested as he ran from the scene. Police identified Armento as the gunman.

Both men were taken into custody without incident and were in serious condition, Kelly said.
 
Three things leap to my eye. Off duty weapon, unknown. Reports were that the officer heard noises. He called his landlord and then 911. Instead of waiting, he grabbed his off duty weapon and ran to investigate. The problem is that IF the officer had waited, no arrest(s), no firefight and the officer would be alive. A much better outcome. The officer may have NOT been wearing his vest due to being off-duty. A chest hit from a 357 Magnum was reported as the mechanism of injury that resulted in death. A previous NYPD OTJ fatality resulted from a armpit entry that negated any protection a vest could offer. Might NYPD need to assess the effectiveness of their vests? We don't know, yet. A gung ho mindset or superman complex often pushes LEOs and other citizens into action. The NYPD officer went after multiple actors with his off duty weapon and engaged in a confrontation while armed that resulted in a firefight. If he had not gone out looking for the BGs and waited for responding RMPs, he would have not been a hero. Bad tactics, poor armament, lack of body armour, contact with multiple armed suspects, a firefight, outmanned, outgunned and out of luck. A unfortunate set of circumstances. What went right? Nothing. The NYPD has had multiple officers shot and some KIA recently. I thought NYPD had better training. Jim Cirillo was their leader in firearms training by experience and training. Is this a lack of experience, rushed training post-9/11 and a indication of a lack of tactical awareness? Something is broke and LEOs are dying because of it.
 
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Sounds like they need more police training in the Bronx. Bunch of mistakes made here, including a major one, ie, that of determining prioritys.
 
The NYPD is not alone in being deficient in training. The mayors and police cheifs are more concerned with PR ,and PC.In actual shootouts NYPD hits 10% of the time. It used to be 20% when they had revolvers.
 
The officer was struck once in the chest with a bullet from a .357-caliber revolver. Before collapsing in the driveway of the home, he returned fire and struck both of the suspects — one was hit twice, the other four times.
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By all rights, he should have had his honor guard to Valhalla.

pax
 
Officer was Hit in chest, returned fire

Lets see, he was hit with a 357 in the chest returned fire and hit both suspects. Twice for one of them and four times for the other.
He got killed because he put himself in a position of danger.
S**t happens guys, when you play in the traffic you might get hit.

He thought like a policeman, not like a civilian review board. Monday night quarterbacking.
He knew the deal, (go back to sleep after you made the calls) go out and further investigate. Give it a brake.

Harley
 
right..why does everyone look for something or someone to blame when a bad event takes place...the officer suspected a crime...called the police went over to investigate....the crooks got the drop on him and he lost..the only thing that was wrong was someone was breaking the law then killed an officer while he was trying to prevent it...good guys lose sometimes...
 
Luck of the draw guys, luck of the draw. It would be great if every time we responded to a prowler or similar call, we had backup, but all too often it isn't available, and a single cop has to handle it. Sometimes things go south :( .

A previous NYPD OTJ fatality resulted from a armpit entry that negated any protection a vest could offer. Might NYPD need to assess the effectiveness of their vests?
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This is a problem with all issued vests, with the possible exception of a TAC vest. Even with side panels, the armpit is exposed. It pretty much has to be to allow movement. An armpit hit is essentially a highway to the heart. Training can always be improved, but I think it's more NYPD having a bad run of luck.
 
Got to give credit for the police of past times who went out on duty everyday without a body-shield....soldiers too...today the same types feel naked without em.
 
I'd say given the situation, and assuming the "off duty weapon" wasn't a 12 ga. w/buckshot - the guy did some outstanding shooting....
 
Gee Sir William, it must be tough to be soooo perfect, and know absolutely everything.
Unknown about your background, but there is little doubt in my mind that if the cop did nothing, you might find something to whine about.

This cop did a terrific job. It turns out he died. That happens. There is no absolute in this business, and even if you do everything right you can loose, and everything wrong you can win.
If he had perhaps shot first, a great many would complain that he acted a a JBT etc.
 
NYPD does seem to be having training problems. In the previous KIA, the officer made mistakes. He initiated pursuit in a unmarked car, he was shot as he pulled alongside the suspect vehicle (a BIG no-no!) and he had not communicated properly per NYPD pursuit policy. He is a dead hero. The officer involved in this incident is also a dead hero. There is the problem. I can only hope that the NYPD officers demand a review and demand better tactical training. Inspectors funerals are not the desired outcome.
 
I'd be very happy to hear of your background. How much time have you spent as a cop in NY?

Or, is your knowledge all based on the errornet.

Pat sends, anxiously waiting.
 
Gee Sir William, it must be tough to be soooo perfect, and know absolutely everything.
Unknown about your background, but there is little doubt in my mind that if the cop did nothing, you might find something to whine about.

This cop did a terrific job. It turns out he died. That happens. There is no absolute in this business, and even if you do everything right you can loose, and everything wrong you can win.
If he had perhaps shot first, a great many would complain that he acted a a JBT etc.
__________________
S/F



Yes!! Took the words right out of my mouth!
 
Spoke with my NYPD buddy on Wed about the armpit shot. The information that the officer made the stop improperly, by pulling up to the side of the vehicle, and therefore recieved the shot in an area unprotected by the vest has not been officially disseminated throughout the department. My buddy's opinion, and that of several officers he has discussed it with, is that the mayor and his people are trying to get as much milage out of a "valiant officer slain" and "evil guns" rather than give any indication that the officer did anything wrong.

This is a huge mistake. It is tragic that an officer lost his life but what is worse is that, having lost his life nobody is using this as a lesson to protect other officers. I predict the same path will be followed with this weekend's shooting...
 
Lion In Winter said
Gee Sir William, it must be tough to be soooo perfect, and know absolutely everything.
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I didn't see where Sir William was claiming to be perfect. He just provided his interpretation of why the officer lost his life and the idea that it probably was not necessary.

This cop did a terrific job. It turns out he died. That happens.
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Wow, that has to be one of the most cold blooded things I have ever read. Nice you can discount the cop's life so easily, but you get upset with with Sir William for being critical of the cop's tactics. Do you really think the cop did everything right? Then why is he dead?

There is no absolute in this business, and even if you do everything right you can loose, and everything wrong you can win.
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Oh I get it. These things are preordained and so no matter what the cop would have done, he would still be dead?

Funny thing, there seem to be a lot of people, civilians, military, and law enforcement who tend to survive by doing the right things and there are a lot of folks in those categories that are dead becausse they did the wrong things. The correlation is staggering.

You are correct in that there are no absolutes (which is an absolute and so apparently doesn't apply?), but if you do everything right, your chances of getting killed are nil. It just then becomes a question of how much you have to do that is right.

I simply don't see how the officer in this case did everything right and managed to get shot, apparently by the first shot of the fight.

So tell me, since you think the cop did a terrific job, at the academy, will they be teaching his approach to responding to a burglary as the proper way to handle things...do you think? Or will they be teaching that this approach as being a less than an ideal way to deal with the burglary of a vacant house?

Being heroic and being a hero does not mean you did things right.
 
Dns

I simply don't see how the officer in this case did everything right and managed to get shot, apparently by the first shot of the fight.
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There's this nasty little gremlin out there by the name of Murphy's Law that seems to haunt law enforcement with a myriad of variations, the first, foremost, and scariest of which is "the unexpected is not always the expected". You can train until cows fly, and there's no question that it ups the odds of going home to the little lady at the end of shift, but the unpredictable, unexpected happens, none the less. Can we term it a mistake and should we? Yes on both counts. Newhall, CA, 1972, taught us that. Prior to that, it was sacrilege to even whisper that a fallen cop made a mistake. The Newhall incident sparked the movement that resulted in today's officer survival training. So we learn and we train, and we're safer... until the next variation of Murphy rears its ugly head. Something new, something not anticipated. Now if we all had IBM's "Big Blue" for a brain, along with ESP, x-ray vision, and super hearing, maybe everybody would go home safe at night. Then again, maybe not. But we don't and more mistakes will be made, at great cost. Some just aren't preventable. The abandoned vehicle call that turns out to be a sniper setup to take out a cop, for example. Again we learn, and we train, but the cycle continues, and will continue :( .
 
00,
Do you know what happened? Do you have access to the Unusual Incident report? The Firearms Discharge/ Assault Report?
Or are you just shooting from the lip again?

I have stood at attention and rendered a salute at the funerals of a great many cops and firefighters, some of whom i have known and were friends.
I have been involved in shootings, investigated shootings and arrested a large number of armed citizens who were in the process of committing felonies.

No one is perfect, and a man wiser then you and me stated that no plan survives the first shot.

Yet the errornet masses demand perfection from cops, when not even the courts expect that.

The anti cop theme runs deep through the disinformation cowpath.
I will be the first to state that there always should be oversight of the police.
However, that oversight has to be tempered with common sense, something sorely lacking when people hide behind screen names.

No one seems to be in a great hurry to critique armed citizens who do poorly (the west coast mall shooting being the most recent), but everyone seems to be an expert in police procedure.
Amazing....
During my 20 years on NYPD, i have had neighbors bang on the door of my house because their kid/ cat is up in a tree, their house had been burglarized, someone was fighting in the street.
My answer was a question- "Did you call 911?" If not i handed them a phone.
It is surprising how many state that they "Do not want to get involved", but expect you to.
I was involved 9 times off duty. One was for a DWI with SPI. The rest were for armed /robberies, shootings or possession of a firearm.
I have seen- intimately- how something that looks white can shade to dark grey and fade to black in the beat of a heart.

Many state- and correctly- that people are innocent until proven guilty, and that people should wait until the facts are in until a decision is made.
So, how come that doesn't apply to cops? How come a great number of sanctimonious posters will accept what the media says in relation to the police as absolute fact, but hate the press when it comes to other issues?

This cop awoke to the noise, called his landlord and 911, gave a description of himself, and stepped up to the plate.
I'd venture that if he stayed in the rack and did nothing, a great number of people would criticise that action.

Lastly, reading is fundemental. Lion in the winter didn't write it- I did.
But hey, facts aren't part of the forums.
 
As I read this, the officer did what we all want from our police officers -- stood between the citizens and the crooks prowling the night.

The officer followed a decent protocol -- call for backup, give a description of himself and identified himself while trying to detain them for investigation. When the shooting started, he showed remarkable accuracy, getting 6-for-6 hits from a compact pistol (a Kahr I would guess from the KHR error in the news article).

What went wrong? It appears he did not wear his vest which most likely would have saved him. Maybe he'd washed the carrier and it wasn't dry. Whatever the reason, he needed it. I didn't see any mention of him having a flashlight which could have dazzled the shooter's eyes enough to miss. He was found in the driveway and no mention of him being near or behind a car or other cover. Did he make the mistake of issuing his challenge from an unprotected position? It would seem likely. But perhaps there wasn't cover available or he was surprised before reaching cover.

It was 5:20am and bitterly cold. He was wearing a heavy winter coat and it's a good bet so were the bad guys. As noted a number of times here and elsewhere, JHPs often clog up with dense fabrics and fail to expand. This can turn a good performing round into a FMJ performer.

I should note that the BG's could have simply run away and it's doubtful that the officer would have fired (at least legally anyhow). Had they fled, they may have escaped before backup arrived on-scene. But the BG elected to make it a shooting. No doubt an armed civilian wouldn't have been a deterrent either.
 
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