Apr 11, 2008 12:32 am US/Eastern
Wounded Irvington, N.J. Detective Kills Suspect
Officer Takes Bullet In Left Arm After Breaking Up Robbery
IRVINGTON, N.J. (CBS/AP) ―
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Detective Roman Melenka, a 24-year veteran of the Irvington Police Department, unknowingly interrupted a robbery when he entered a convenience store on Union Avenue on April 10.
CBS
An Irvington police detective shot and killed an armed man who had wounded him during a botched robbery at a local business on Thursday.
However, authorities said Det. Roman Melenka's injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Melenka, a 24-year veteran of the force, unknowingly interrupted the robbery when he entered the convenience store on Union Avenue around 5 p.m., Police Chief Michael Chase said.
The detective was on duty at the time, wearing a badge over plain clothes. The 25-year-old gunman, whose name was not immediately released, shot Melenka once in the arm, but the detective returned fire and shot the man before disarming him, Chase said.
Melenka was being treated at University Hospital in Newark and was expected to fully recover. The gunman was also taken there, but was pronounced dead a short time later, said Paul Loriquet, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor's office.
Loriquet said the gunman sustained gunshot wounds to his chest and leg, but further details were not immediately available.
County Prosecutor Paula Dow said authorities were searching Thursday night for a woman and another man, who may have been armed, for questioning in connection with the robbery.
Jim Ryan, a spokesman with the state Policeman's Benevolent Association, said the organization was offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of someone connected to the shooting.
Ryan said the reward is the first of its kind in the organization's Cop Shot program, which was modeled after a similar program in New York City.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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