By Michael Gartland
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — Mayor Adams said Tuesday that a teenager shot in the head by a Bronx NYPD cop was driving an SUV forward straight at the officer, and that the teen’s actions were akin to a terrorist attack.
The teen, Luis Manuel-Monsanto, is now in critical condition at Lincoln Hospital.
“When I received word of the shooting I immediately said, ‘Let’s download the videos and let me see it,’ ” Adams said.
“There was not a backing up. There was just the opposite. The vehicle was driven directly at the police officer. And in the days where vehicles are used in terrorist attacks to drive into crowds, we’re dealing with a different moment in policing.”
Manuel-Monsanto, 18, allegedly gunned his black Jeep SUV directly at an officer when he was stopped by cops who boxed his vehicle in with two unmarked NYPD patrol vehicles after the teen blew through several red lights on Boston Road, police said.
An NYPD official said the driver backed up first before driving toward the officer.
“As the officers exited their vehicle, the Jeep backed up and sped directly toward one officer who discharged his weapon at the vehicle, striking the driver,” NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said Sunday night.
While NYPD policy frowns on cops shooting at moving vehicles unless something other than the vehicle is being used as a weapon, there are exceptions. Adams said experts are now “dissecting” video of the incident to determine whether or not proper police procedures were followed.
Manuel-Monsanto’s father said he couldn’t imagine his son was trying to mow down cops with his car, but said he would wait to see the video and talk with his son.
“I just want to know what happened, what’s going on,” said the father, Eddy Monsanto. “He was just joyriding with friends. That’s it. If there’s no weapons involved, why do you have to take out another weapon? Maybe the officers did something wrong. Maybe they panicked. I need to see video. I’m just waiting for answers, and I’m hoping to get them soon.”
Monsanto, who uses a wheelchair, said his son is his “right-hand man,” and helps him out with everything. The teen attends Cardinal Hayes High School, just blocks from the hospital where he’s now in the intensive care unit.
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“It’s going to be a long process,” Monsanto said. “It’s not going to be easy,”
Adams likened the situation to another incident where a car was used to intentionally mow down pedestrians.
In 2017, Sayfullo Saipov used a pickup truck to smash into a school bus and run down pedestrians on a bike path along the West Side, killing eight people.
Adams suggested it’s that type of vehicular attack that police must now be on guard against.
“I know many of us remember what happened on the West Side where you had a terrorist attempt, and an individual used a vehicle to mow down innocent people,” the mayor said.
“So when you have individuals running red lights, individuals taking some intentional action, you have to make that intentional decision: Is this a terrorist attack, is this an attempt to kill a police officer?” he said. “That’s what’s being analyzed right now.”
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