Killer of 2 NY officers had a long criminal history

New York, December 22

The gunman who fatally ambushed two police officers in their squad car had a long criminal record, a hatred for police and the government, and an apparent history of mental instability that included an attempt to hang himself a year ago, authorities has said.

Moments before opening fire, Ismaaiyl Brinsley approached people on the street in Brooklyn and asked them to follow him on Instagram, then told them, “Watch what I’m going to do,” Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said yesterday.

A portrait of the Brooklyn-born gunman emerged as big-city police departments and union leaders around the US warned officers to change their routines and insist on extra backup a day after Brinsley carried out what he portrayed online as retaliation for the slayings of black men at the hands of white police officers. Brinsley was black; the slain officers were Asian and Hispanic.

The slayings come at a tense time. The police nationwide have been criticised for months for their tactics, following Eric Garner’s death in a New York officer’s chokehold and Michael Brown’s fatal shooting in Ferguson, Missouri. — AP

Another police officer killed in US

Miami: A police officer was killed in the US on Sunday, a day after two New York police officers were shot dead by a gunman in Brooklyn. The latest incident happened in the town of Tarpon Springs, 32 km north of Tampa, Florida. The Pinellas County Sheriff's department confirmed the killing of Charles Kondek. The police detained Marco Antonio Parrilla Jr, 24, suspected of killing the officer, a report in the Tampa Bay Times said.