A New York Police Department officer was in critical condition in a medically induced coma after an altercation with a suspect Friday night at a nail salon in Brooklyn, police said.
Another officer also was injured after employees of Goldmine Nails asked police to remove a man who had urinated inside the store and the two officers discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest, Chief of Patrol Rodney K. Harrison said in a news conference.
The man was later identified by police as Dewayne Hawkes, 26. He was charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct.
As officers tried to arrest Hawkes in the salon, another man, later identified by police as Kewsi Ashun, entered the store and engaged in a “violent struggle” with the officers, Harrison said.
One officer deployed a Taser against Ashun but it was ineffective, according to Harrison. Ashun then hit the officer on the head with a metal chair, Harrison said.
The officer fired six shots at Ashun and he was killed, Harrison said. The officer, a 21-year veteran of the NYPD, is in a medically induced coma and is in critical but stable condition, Harrison said.
The other officer, who has been with the NYPD for seven months, was treated for tinnitus at a local hospital and released.
Hawkes was wanted on a warrant for criminal mischief, Harrison said.
Police have still not identified the two officers involved, and as of Sunday, police had not given updates on the condition of the officer in a coma.
“One of our brave officers was injured while keeping New Yorkers safe,” Harrison said. “This time, because a man who violently interfered with a lawful arrest. This incident underscores the dangers our officers face each and every day.”
