A jury in Queens on Tuesday found a man guilty of attempted murder for shooting a rookie cop who tried to intervene in a petty fight over a bus seat.
Devin Spraggins turned on Brett Boller — who at 22 was just three months into his dream job as an NYPD officer — when he tried to break up an argument over a bus seat near Parsons Blvd. in April 2023.
Spraggins, 22, will be sentenced Dec. 2.
“This case could not have been any clearer. This individual was carrying a loaded gun on our streets. He attacked an innocent bus passenger for no reason. He was determined to get away with those crimes at any cost, even if it meant murdering a New York City police officer, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in a statement.
“He didn’t succeed thanks to the courage and skill of our brother Brett Boller and his fellow police officers. We’re grateful that he is being held accountable with this verdict. Now he must receive the longest sentence the law allows, the statement said.
Spraggins boarded the bus at 160th St. and Parsons Blvd and immediately approached a random rider as they drove along a Queens street, former NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said at a press conference at the time.
“Why are you looking at me? You’re in my seat!” Spraggins reportedly said to the other passenger, according to Essig.
The bus driver then flagged down Boller, but when the rookie cop confronted Spraggins, he angrily pushed Boller aside and ran off the bus, Essig said.
Boller then chased Spraggins down, but when he caught up to him, Spraggins pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Boller in the leg, prosecutors said.
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The bullet shattered Boller’s hip and pierced his femoral artery, according to court papers.
Afterward, Spraggins ran from the scene and changed his clothes before taking a Lyft taxi to the Bronx, according to police. At some point, he cut his hair to disguise himself, police said.
Boller’s father, NYPD Inspector Don Boller, was there when the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Spraggins in an apartment building on Bronx Blvd., a source told the Daily News.
The elder Boller was among the cops who crowded the courtroom throughout the trial.
Boller, now 23, is still recovering from the injury that nearly took his life a year and a half ago, Hendry said in October.
“Three surgeries, constant physical therapy. He said to me, the things that were once routine are no longer routine. He relied on others to do the basic things in life — get out of bed, change his clothes,” Hendry recounted.
Boller, who is still on restricted duty, has been promoted to detective.
