NYPD brass decided not to publicize the accidental discharge of a firearm during a police raid at Columbia University until the media reported on the ballistic gaffe days later, according to the department’s chief spokesman.
Police officials did not think the unintentional gunshot was newsworthy, as accidental discharges are not unusual, said Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard.
“We average about eight a year, and so my goal here was not to just try and make a story,” said Sheppard, who addressed the issue during a press briefing on Friday.
“My goal was to see … was there something abnormal about this. There wasn’t,” he said.
Police made no mention of the gunshot during a press briefing the day after Tuesday’s raid to clear the university’s Hamilton Hall of pro-Palestinian protestors, when Sheppard described the operation as “calm” and “precise.”
Since reporters — at that point unaware of the gunshot — made no mention of it, NYPD brass made a “joint decision” to keep quiet about it, Sheppard said Friday.
“We could have talked about it, but I don’t recall it coming up organically in that press conference,” said Sheppard.
“Accidental discharges happen every single year … and we don’t get requests on them,” he added. “If you do ask about them, we’ll talk about them.”
Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard. (Theodore Parisienne for New York Daily News)
The public would not learn of the accidental gunfire until Thursday when The City, reporting on rumors among students and footage recorded outside Columbia that showed a police officer texting “thought we f—–g shot someone,” confirmed the discharge with police.
A veteran sergeant with the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit fired the accidental shot from his 9mm sidearm as he breached a locked window at Hamilton Hall, where more than 100 pro-Palestinian protestors had barricaded themselves earlier that day, according the elite unit’s commanding officer.
“[The officer was] reaching through a hole in the glass, switched the firearm to his left hand and, while reaching through the window, the discharge occurred,” said Assistant Chief Carlos Valdez.
The sergeant was using a flashlight mounted to the gun’s barrel to scan the poorly lit office, according to Valdez.
The bullet struck the floor of the office in an unoccupied area of the building, and no one was injured, he said.
“At no time were any police officers, members of the public or any protesters in danger,” he said.
A spokesman with the Manhattan district attorney’s office Thursday confirmed that its police accountability unit has opened a probe into the shooting.
The officer will undergo counseling and retraining, according to Valdez.
