NYC police detective killed in blue-on-blue shooting
By: Michael Balsamo, Michael R. Sisak and Stephen R. Groves, The Associated Press
NEW YORK — A New York City police detective was shot and killed by friendly fire Tuesday night as officers confronted a robbery suspect who turned out to be armed with a replica handgun, Commissioner James O’Neill said.
“This appears to be an absolutely tragic case of friendly fire,” an emotional O’Neill said at a late-night news conference.
Det. Brian Simonsen, 42, was struck in the chest as multiple officers fired on the suspect at a T-Mobile store in Queens, O’Neill said. Simonsen, a 19-year NYPD veteran, was put in a squad car and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
