NYPD Officer Brett Boller of Hauppauge leaves hospital 9 days after he was shot by suspect in Queens

Rookie NYPD Officer Brett Boller of Hauppauge gave a thumbs-up after he was released from the hospital amid cheerful applause from scores of his fellow officers Friday, nine days after he was shot by a suspect in Queens.

Boller, 22, the son of a veteran NYPD detective, waved and smiled as he entered a waiting van outside Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in Queens. Dozens of fellow officers lined up outside in a show of support. 

Boller, who was pushed in a wheelchair and wore his badge dangling from his neck and a classic blue and orange Mets baseball cap, shook the hands of several waiting officers. 

“Thank you everyone for your prayers and support,” NYPD Deputy Inspector Eric Robinson, the commanding officer of the 103rd Precinct, wrote on Twitter. “Today Officer Boller was discharged from Jamaica Hospital,” adding the hashtags: “#onecommunity #103strong #unity.”

Boller’s high school baseball coach, Josh Gutes, tweeted from the team's Twitter account in celebration of the good news Friday: “Great news for Hauppauge! Our former 2 time all league centerfielder and current NYPD Officer Brett Boller has been released from the hospital and will be rehabbing at a facility close to home. Brett has been on all our minds and we couldn’t be happier. Thank you Officer Boller!”

The NYPD arrested suspected gunman Devin Spraggins of Queens at an apartment in the Bronx less than 30 hours after the shooting. Spraggins, who authorities said shot Boller in the right hip on Wednesday afternoon after a brief pursuit on foot and a struggle, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment to multiple counts of attempted murder, assault and other charges. He was ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors said Spraggins,22, was within 2 feet of Boller when he fired, and the bullet penetrated the officer’s femoral artery and shattered his hip, causing a lack of blood flow to his leg. A doctor who treated Boller told prosecutors that Boller “faced a substantial risk of death” without surgical intervention, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Spraggins admitted in a video-recorded police interview that he was the person in the photo who police identified as a suspect in the shooting, but said he didn’t fire the gun. He told investigators he pushed an officer and ran away because he had a gun in his waistband, and the gun “went off.”

According to prosecutors, after Boller fell to the ground, Spraggins continued to point the gun at the officer and took a “shooter’s stance” and pointed the weapon in the direction of Boller’s partner, Officer Anthony Rock, before fleeing on foot. Rock, also a rookie, was not injured.

Police have said they recovered a 9 mm handgun at the Bronx residence where Spraggins was arrested; the magazine contained 15 rounds of ammunition.

The April 5 shooting happened when a man who police believe is Spraggins got into a verbal and physical dispute with another man on an MTA bus, and the driver flagged down Boller and Rock, who were both wearing body cameras.

 The suspect pushed Rock and fled on foot when the officers tried to question him. authorities said. Both officers chased him. The suspect fired one shot, striking Boller, at 3:20 p.m. during a struggle on 161st Street, police said.

Spraggins shed some of his clothing and cut his hair in order to evade authorities, prosecutors said. He was picked up by a Lyft car, and police eventually traced him to the Bronx. Spraggins was arrested “without incident” at 9 p.m. April 6. 

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.