Borough Park, NY – Shomrim Members Who Were Shot At Identified [video]

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     Chief Esposito, chief fox, 66 pct commander Spraige at the bed side of Joel Klein [w-37]. Photo Credit: Shimon GifterBorough Park, NY – Four members of an Orthodox Jewish volunteer patrol in Brooklyn were shot Thursday night after they followed and confronted a man in a vehicle who had been acting suspiciously, the police and witnesses said.

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    The men, members of the Brooklyn South Shomrim Patrol, a licensed unarmed civilian group, were shot about 8 p.m. near 49th Street and 10th Avenue in Borough Park, the police said. None of their wounds were considered life-threatening.

    The man in the car was also hit in the arm by a bullet from a gun he had fired, and he was seized by patrol members, Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said late Thursday night.

    The police said the man, whose name was not immediately released, had an “extensive” criminal record.

    Members of the security patrol said that the man had been reported sitting in his car and fondling himself while leering at groups of young girls on Aug. 25, and that they had given his license plate number to the police.

    They said they had chased and tried to apprehend him, and had made a plan to confront him.

    On Thursday night, they said, they spotted the man driving up 46th Street in a silver Hyundai after residents called their hot line. Members of the patrol began following him in an unmarked car, and contacted Shomrim members in other vehicles to help box him in, said Sam Follman, a coordinator for the group.

    “He noticed we were behind him, and he was scared,” Mr. Follman said. “He’s a known perp to us.”
    Police commissioner Ray Kelly at the hospital last night
    As the man drove along 46th street between Ninth and 10th Avenues, he had to stop behind a double-parked car on a one-way street.

    “When he saw he was blocked, he got out and started running,” Mr. Follman said. After a brief chase, members of the patrol converged on him from several directions, tackled him and forced him to the ground. The man then pulled a .22-caliber gun and started firing, Mr. Follman said.

    “Probably he got off five, six shots,” he said. “While he was on the floor, he kept shooting.”

    According to the police, four members of the group were hit. They were taken to Lutheran Medical Center. Mr. Follman identified the injured patrol members as Abe Kaztow [B-65], a baker, who was hit in the hand; Motty Brauner,[B-58] a dry cleaner, who was hit in the neck; Joel Klein [W-37], an insurance salesman, who was shot in the abdomen; and Motty Pearl, [B-69] also a baker, hit in the hand.

    At a news conference at the hospital, Mr. Kelly said the suspect had a record that included arrests for public lewdness, gun possession and robbery. The Shomrim has been patrolling Hasidic communities in Brooklyn for more than 20 years, and works closely with neighborhood precincts. Mr. Kelly said the police “have a strong relationship” with the group.

    Video credit: Shimon Gifter






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    10 Comments
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    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    13 years ago

    This “perp” must be presumed innocent until proven guilty even under halacha as well as civil law. The shomrim are to be commended for exercising restraint and allowing themselves to be shot rather than risk harm to the suspect.

    PrettyBoyFloyd
    PrettyBoyFloyd
    13 years ago

    Time for vests & guns.
    And not 9 mm either, I’m talking 45’s.

    13 years ago

    These guys are a bunch of cowboys. They’re just plain lucky that no one got killed. They are way to cocky for my taste. They got all this PR with the bank robbery, so they think they’re invincible. They should be required to call the police at the first sign of a problem.

    13 years ago

    To # 1
    Maybe if he was just a suspect you can presume innocence until proven guilty. In this case The Shomrim have been watching & following him for a while. GUILTY!!!

    cookookajew
    Member
    cookookajew
    13 years ago

    wow… just wow… This sheds a bit more light on what happened. How in the world is this guy roaming around when he has had this history? They give the guy a slap on the wrist and then he gets out again to shoot someone else…

    Nobama
    Nobama
    13 years ago

    Sorry i just dont get why these guys are trying to play cops with out guns, if you see someone with a gun you dont attack him unarmed. Overall Shomerim is a great service and thank you.

    BarryLS1
    BarryLS1
    13 years ago

    #1 Are you kidding? Your comment on “Allowing themselves to be shot” is utter nonsense. There is no basis in Halacha for allowing yourself to be harmed to protect the person trying to harm you. Quite the contrary!

    13 years ago

    # 3 you have some nerve! why don’t you volunteer once and see what it’s like out there? those were my grandchildren he exposed himself to! I am horrified to think what he was planning had he not been chased down!