NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey thought about shutting down West Indian Parade because of violence

A top NYPD commander said Wednesday he considered stopping the West Indian Parade on Labor Day after a gang-related shooting marred the relatively peaceful event when one person was killed and four others were wounded by gunfire.

But Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said after he was beseeched by community members and revelers not to cancel the event he and other police commanders decided to keep the festivities going, with heightened police action.

"When I was there in the aftermath, it crossed my mind to shut the parade down, to end it early, it did cross my mind," Maddrey said at a news briefing at police headquarters at 1 Police Plaza in lower Manhattan. "As I was walking from the scene, numerous people, people who I did not know, called me out by name, ‘Chief Maddrey, Chief Maddrey ... please don’t shut down the parade.’ "

The annual event on the Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn continued without further incident but police did confiscate a total of 31 firearms and made 35 gun arrests in police commands in the immediate area of the parade, said NYPD Chief Michael LiPetri, chief of crime control strategies.

NYPD Chief Jerry O’Sullivan of the detective bureau said police responded within seconds of the shooting on Eastern Parkway around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. Five victims — ranging in age from 16 to 69 years old — were found at the scene, he said. Detectives have been reviewing video evidence to identify the suspect, O’Sullivan added.

The gang connection was established from video of people who were at the scene and fled, according to O’Sullivan.

Maddrey told Newsday that officers don’t yet have the identity of the suspected shooter, while another police official indicated they might know his street name.

Police brass reminded reporters and the public that compared with past West Indian Day parades, the latest was relatively violence-free. NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said he "strongly disagreed" with the suggestion that the one shooting was evidence of a police failure.

"This event is nothing like it used to be," said Maddrey. "We have cut shootings down, we have cut violence down."

Despite the one fatal shooting, police insisted in the aftermath of the bloodshed that overall efforts by the department to cut down violence citywide had an impact.

LiPetri said the parade weekend saw a decrease in shooting this year with 13 incidents citywide, compared to 18 last year. He said the majority of the 35 gun arrests during the parade involved gang members.

Maddrey said that in the wake of the shooting, he and other officials were going to consider additional action, including the use of electronic wands to spot firearms in the future.

Asked about transferring the parade to Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, Maddrey said that was a subject that required discussion among other city agencies, not just the NYPD.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.