By Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — The father of a Bronx cop killed by friendly fire has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city and five police officers, accusing them of recklessly opening fire as his son grappled with an armed ex-con, the Daily News has learned.
Brian Mulkeen alleges in his Bronx Supreme Court suit that his 33-year-old son, Officer Brian Mulkeen’s fatal gunshot wounds in September 2019, “were caused solely by the negligence, carelessness and recklessness of the defendants.”
The five officers’ “actions were of such a wanton, willful, and reckless nature as to evince a callous disregard for human life and the safety and welfare of others,” the lawsuit reads.
The legal papers, filed on the second anniversary of the killing claims the city and the NYPD failed to properly train its officers.
Mulkeen was with two other cops when they approached Antonio Williams and another man outside the Edenwald Houses in Edenwald on Sept. 29, 2019.
The three officers were looking for information to help solve a spate of shootings in the area, police said. But Williams took off, the cops gave chase and Mulkeen wrestled him to the ground.
“He’s reaching for it!” Mulkeen could be heard on another officer’s body-worn camera. “He’s reaching for it!”
Mulkeen pulled his own gun and fired at Williams five times. The other cops — Officer Robert Wichers, who ran after Williams and Officer Brian Mahon, who radioed for backup — each let one round go, the suit said.
The backup team fired eight times — five shots were from Sgt. Jason Valentino, two from Officer Keith Figueroa and one by Detective Daniel Beddows, the lawsuit detailed.
Mulkeen was struck at least twice, in the head and upper body and was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died.
Williams, 27, also died in the fusillade of police bullets. The father of two had a loaded .32 caliber pistol on him but did not fire it, police said.
His family filed a wrongful death suit against the city and the NYPD in November 2020. That litigation is still pending.
Then-Police Commissioner James O’Neill appeared to lay the blame at Williams’ feet after the shooting.
“Make no mistake,” O’Neill said then. “We lost the life of a courageous public servant solely due to a violent criminal who put the lives of the police and all the people we serve in jeopardy.”
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division later ruled — and O’Neill’s successor, Commissioner Dermot Shea agreed — that the cops who fired and killed Mulkeen and Williams did not violate department guidelines regarding the use of deadly physical force. The officers are still with the department, except for Beddows, who is now retired.
In April 2021, Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark declined to press charges against the cops but said the shooting “presents serious concerns about the NYPD’s use of force, defensive tactics and tactical trainings in their interactions with the public and incidents of friendly fire.”
The late Mulkeen and the officers named in the suit were assigned to plainclothes anti-crime unit later disbanded by Shea. Mayor Adams has said he plans to return a revamped anti-crime to the streets.
Mulkeen’s death was seven months after the Feb. 12, 2019, fatal friendly-fire shooting of Detective Brian Simonsen while he responded to a cell phone store robbery in Queens.
Neither Mulkeen’s father nor the family’s lawyer responded to a request for comment.
A spokesman for the city’s Law Department said the suit is being reviewed and noted Mulkeen was a brave cop who died “trying to keep us safe.”
The NYPD’s Force Investigation Division later ruled — and O’Neill’s successor, Commissioner Dermot Shea agreed — that the cops who fired and killed Mulkeen and Williams did not violate department guidelines regarding the use of deadly physical force. The officers are still with the department, except for Beddows, who is now retired.
In April 2021, Clark declined to press charges against the cops but said the shooting “presents serious concerns about the NYPD’s use of force, defensive tactics and tactical trainings in their interactions with the public and incidents of friendly fire.”
The late Mulkeen and the officers named in the suit were assigned to plainclothes anti-crime unit later disbanded by Shea. Adams has said he plans to return a revamped anti-crime to the streets.
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