Bed-Stuy: Do or Die

Not sure how this one is going to play out but I figured why not get a head start with some gross commentary using the few facts we have at this time.

Officers received a 911 call around 7 p.m. last night from a mother reporting domestic abuse and asking for help to “deal with this.”

The 911 operator said she overheard a boy threatening to kill his mother and claiming he had a gun.

Police responded to the 911 call. When they arrived at 590 Gates Avenue they saw 18-year-old, Khiel Coppin, pacing inside in the apartment. His mother was outside waiting for the police.

The teen began screaming from a first-floor window down at his mother and the cops before climbing out of the apartment window and crossing the street toward the officers. He was holding a black object in his hand.

The officers backed up and ordered him to stop. When the teen refused and kept approaching them, the officers opened fire.

The five officers fired between 13 and 20 times at the boy. The gunfire killed 18-year-old Khiel Coppin.

Unfortunately, it turned out the teen was only holding a hairbrush.



It was basically suicide by cop. Coppin was pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital.

The police also say that Coppin's mother repeatedly said her son had a gun and that the five police officers said "Halt!" and Drop it!" to the teen and the teen did not respond.



Some witnesses agreed, saying they heard Coppin's mother say he had a gun.

And of course some said Coppin had his hands up when he was shot. I bet he was holding a bouquet of tulips, too, for his elderly grandmother. Give me a fucking break.

One witness said he saw Coppin drop the hairbrush and that one officer yelled for the others to stop shooting.

Another witness, a 16-year-old girl named Precious Blood told the Times that one officer kept shooting, in spite of shouts to cease fire from the other officers.

Daily News says Coppin's mom had looked into psychiatric help for her son. Apparently his mom had attempted to have him hospitalised earlier in the day, before the dispute that ended in the fatal shooting. Apparently the boy had a history of mental illness.

But the case nonetheless evoked painful memories of previous police shootings: the November 2006, 50-bullet barrage that killed Sean Bell, and the 1999 killing of Amadou Diallo, who was hit by 19 of the 41 shots fired by police in the Bronx.

All five police officers involved in the Bed-Stuy shooting last night passed Breathalyzer tests immediately administered after the shooting which is now NYPD policy; the NYPD announced the breath-test measure in June after studying the police's undercover operations after the police shooting of Sean Bell.


This is a tragic story but no one is at fault. The kid's mom called 911 and said her son had a gun. The kid was yelling that he had a gun in the background during the 911 call. It was dark. The boy kept walking towards them holding what they thought was a gun. Cops told the boy to halt or drop the weapon, and he kept coming towards them. Cops shoot the kid. End of story. Tragic, yes, but there was no wrong done here whatsoever.