MANHATTAN — Close to one in five undercover NYPD officers have had guns pulled on them by other policemen who mistook them for criminals, according to department study results obtained by the New York Times.
The NYPD launched the survey of more than 200 undercover officers following the fatal shooting of off-duty officer Omar Edwards by another officer in Harlem earlier this year.
Edwards, who is black, intercepted someone breaking into his car May 28, and gave chase with his gun drawn.
Andrew Dunton, who is white, responded to the scene and mistook Edwards for a suspect, he told authorities. A grand jury declined to indict Dunton.
The NYPD survey results were included in a letter from Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to Gov. David Paterson, the Times reports.
Paterson has convened a task force to look into shootings by on-duty officers on off-duty officers, and the role that race plays in it. The task force meets again in Harlem on Thursday.
The officers surveyed said the primary way to survive a mistaken identity standoff is to freeze, the Times reports.
