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Gunman Arrested for Shooting NYPD Officers in The Bronx, Sources Say

By  Murray Weiss Trevor Kapp Aidan Gardiner and Ben Fractenberg | January 6, 2015 1:55pm | Updated on January 6, 2015 6:13pm

 Jason Polanco was arrested after police said he shot two officers responding to a robbery in the Bronx.
Police Shooting Arrests
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FORDHAM — A man who shot and wounded two plain-clothes NYPD officers after a Fordham grocery store robbery Monday night was arrested Tuesday along with his accomplice, police said.

Jason Polanco, 25, the alleged gunman, and Joshua Kemp, 28, had just robbed Welcome 2 Yemen Deli Grocery, 363 E. 180th St., about 10:25 p.m. Monday night, when they were approached by five anti-crime officers who had just ended their shift, police said.

When the robbers noticed the officers, Polanco ducked into a Chinese restaurant near East 184th Street and Tiebout Avenue and fired one round from a .44 caliber revolver that hit Kemp in the right bicep, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said at a press conference on Tuesday.

He fired two more rounds and hit officers Andrew Dossi, 30, and Aliro Pellerano, 38, Boyce said. Officers also fired three shots at Polanco.

After the shooting, Polanco stole a white Chevy Camaro, but quickly crashed it on 188th Street then he ran out and ditched the gun, which was bought in Colorado in 1983, Boyce said.

Kemp later turned up at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital for the gunshot wound, Boyce said, adding that when Kemp was questioned by police, it became clear he was involved in the firefight. After he was treated and released from the hospital he was arrested, police said.

Polanco was arrested Tuesday afternoon near East Tremont Avenue and Westchester Avenue, sources said.

Dossi was critically wounded with gunshots to his left arm and lower back, police said. Pellerano was being treated for shots to the chest and left arm and is expected to be released from the hospital on Wednesday, Boyce said.

Dossi and Pellerano were five officers who, after finishing their shift, were about to head home when the robbery was first reported. Since the deli was in their sector, and just a few blocks away from the 46th Precinct house, they jumped into a car and sped to the scene, sources said.

Several of them didn't have their bullet-proof vests and some didn't have guns, sources said.

"It was scary. I thought I was going to die," said Nooraldi Nalgabyli, 20, who was behind the deli counter at the time of the robbery. "I thought about my family and what's going to happen next."

The suspects fled with all the cash that was in the register, Nalgabyli said.

Back out on the street, the pair shed an outer layer of clothing to throw off any police responding to their description, Boyce said. But the veteran team of anti-crime officers spotted Kemp acting suspicious and moved toward him, sources said. He signaled to Polanco, who was in the Chinese restaurant buying a Snapple.

Polanco pulled his gun, turned and fired, Boyce said.

 

 

Polenco had three previous arrests for weapons possession, which were cutting instruments, and his Instagram page had images of him boxing as well as with anti-police messages.

Last year, he posted a "Stop Police Brutality" picture and wrote "Same way they empty a full mag on us, empty a couple on them."

 

Suspect in Bronx Police Shooting
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NYPD

 

The shooting comes nearly three weeks after NYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and his partner Wenjian Liu were gunned down by Ismaaiyl Brinsley while sitting in there squad car in Brooklyn. Brinsley claimed on social media that he intended to kill the officers to avenge the deaths of Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

After their deaths, NYPD officers turned their back several times at Mayor Bill de Blasio, including at Det. Liu's wake on Sunday.

Dossi and Pellerano were not thrilled to meet with de Blasio when he visited them at the hospital on Monday night, sources said.

Polenco was charged by police for the robbery, attempted murder of the officers and car jacking, while Kemp was just charged for the robbery, Boyce said.

Kemp was arrested 10 other times, including multiple robberies, and was on parole until May for a robbery arrest, Boyce said.