NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill says the department is reviewing body camera video and will be taking steps to learn from the tragic loss of Officer Brian Mulkeen.
Mulkeen is the second officer this year to be killed in what the department is calling friendly fire. He was hit twice by gunfire from other officers after chasing down a suspect early Sunday morning.
The NYPD still needs to review more body camera evidence and go over forensic evidence in the case. There were six officers at the scene and everyone’s body camera was on except for Mulkeen’s.
Fifteen shots were fired during the incident – five rounds from Mulkeen’s gun, 10 from other officers and none from the suspect’s loaded gun.
Mulkeen and the other officers were patrolling the area near the Edenwald Houses when the violent struggle with 27-year-old suspect Antonio Williams happened. Williams, who was also killed, was a 27-year-old convicted felon who was on probation and found carrying a .32 caliber loaded revolver.
Mulkeen served in the Anti-Crime unit, spending most of his career taking guns off Bronx streets. A close friend of his from college told News 12 Mulkeen was proud to be an officer. Commissioner O’Neill said Mulkeen dedicated his career to protecting the city.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. spoke of Mulkeen on News 12 The Bronx’s Ask the Borough President Monday.
"Whenever we lose a police officer while he or she is in the active duty it is something that we should all mourn where we should all take seriously because it is a reflection of all of us, our safety we should be out their supporting, especially in this case Officer Brian Mulkeen. By all accounts was a hero. Just a couple hours before his death, the shooting … he was out there apprehending an individual and got a gun off the streets. We know that there has been a lot of activity, you know, with gunfire and violence around Edenwald Houses, and he was just out there doing the best he can to keep the community safe."
Mulkeen’s wake is scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday at the Smith, Seaman & Quackenbush Funeral Home. A funeral will be held Friday at the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church.