Friday, March 30, 2012

Woman shot when officer unintentionally discharges weapon during drug raid in apartment above

A 25-year-old woman from Japan was sleeping on a friend's couch in Brooklyn, New York when she was grazed by a bullet fired from the apartment above her.
Brooklyn South Narcotics officers were on an early morning drug bust, looking for pot and crack cocaine. The first officer to enter was carrying a ballistic shield in one hand and a 9-mm handgun in the other. The officer yelled "Hands up" as he approached the suspect, 28-year-old Ernesto Oritz. Oritz, who was sleeping on a sofabed, kicked the officer's shield with his foot. This caused the officer to unintentionally discharge his weapon.
The bullet went through the sofa mattress, through the floorboard, and into the apartment below where it grazed the woman's left forearm. She had just arrived in New York city a few days earlier and was planning to fly to Barbados later in the day. She was taken to Kings County Hospital for treatment and the police arranged to drive her to the airport in time to make her flight.
Ortiz, who had been arrested 25 times before, including three times for criminal possession of a gun, was arrest on various charges, including drug charges. His girlfriend was also arrested.

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