NYPD: 2 officers shot, wounded in Brooklyn

Two veteran NYPD cops were shot and wounded Tuesday afternoon in Brooklyn after a suspect grabbed one of the officers' guns and opened fire as they attempted to handcuff him, Mayor Eric Adams and police officials said.

One officer suffered a gunshot wound to the hand and the other was hit in the thigh while they attempted to arrest Melvin Butler, 39, during a domestic violence call in Brownsville, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.

Butler was shot multiple times in a return of gunfire and remained hospitalized Tuesday evening in critical condition, Kenny said at a news conference at the hospital where the officers were being treated.

“A very violent and dangerous person attempted to harm our officers and they responded accordingly,” Adams said at the news conference. “This was a horrific incident and because of their actions, a dangerous person was apprehended and two officers are going home to their families.”

One of the wounded officers had 9½ years on the job and the other was a 16-year veteran.

Along with another officer and a sergeant, they had responded about 3 p.m. to the domestic violence call at an apartment building on Bergen Street, Kenny said.

Butler’s mother called police to report an assault in progress after he had hit her on the head, according to the chief.

Officers asked Butler to put his hands behind his back before “a violent struggle ensued” and he grabbed an officer’s gun, Kenny said.

Police were still examining body camera footage and ballistics to determine which weapons were used in the shooting.

“He immediately struggled and they go to the ground and you can hear an officer shout, ‘He’s got my gun’ and shots were fired,” Kenny said.

The two officers were being treated at NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn. Both were expected to make a full recovery, Police Commissioner Edward Caban said at the news conference.

“Our officers are lucky to be alive at this hour,” Caban said. “They deserve all New Yorkers' thanks and gratitude for their courageous work.”

Police said Butler has six prior arrests in New York City and one in North Carolina. His most recent arrests were in January and February 2023 related to domestic violence calls. Police said he had been sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2004 on an attempted murder conviction.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.