Dec 1, 2008 7:32 pm US/Eastern
Burress Case Draws The Ire Of Mayor Bloomberg
Giants Star Receiver Out On $100,000 Bail; NYPD Investigating Hospital, Nightclub & Teammates
Bloomberg Calls For 'Full Prosecution Of State Law'
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Plaxico Burress arrives at a police station early Monday morning to surrender to the NYPD, where he was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh at a NYC nightclub.
CBS
Mayor Michael Bloomberg expressed outrage Monday over this weekend's accidental shooting involving New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress.
Burress may have shot himself, but the mayor said the ball was really dropped at the hospital where he was treated.
Burress, with his hands cuffed behind his back, was escorted Monday afternoon into Manhattan Criminal Court. And inside the courtroom he had to listen as he was charged with criminal possession of a loaded weapon in the second degree, and for having an ammo clip, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree.
"He has not been convicted of any crime," said Benjamin Brafman, Burress' attorney. "He enjoys the presumption of innocence just like everybody else in the United States. And I would hope that the Giants, the public, the mayor, the prosecutors all withhold judgment until we have a resolution of this case."
Mayor Bloomberg had harsh words for Burress.
"I don't think anybody should be exempt from that, and I think it would be an outrage if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, particularly people who live in the public domain, make their living because of their visibility," Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg, of course, has been on a campaign about guns and it is partly because of his pressure that the gun laws were changed so that Burress, for example, on the loaded weapon charge is looking at a mandatory 3 ½-year minimum instead of a lesser amount of time. The mayor also went after New York Presbyterian Hospital for not immediately reporting Burress' gunshot injury to the police.
"It's just an outrage that the hospital didn't do what they were legally required to do," the mayor said. "It's a misdemeanor. It's a chargeable offense, and I think the district attorney should certainly go after the management of this hospital. The lame excuse that they didn't know -- this is a world-class hospital. The hospital should fire people who did not report the incident."
Burress finally left court on $100,000 cash bail, accompanied by his wife, Tiffany, who, the judge was told when Burress' lawyer argued for a lower bail, is herself, a lawyer.
The State Department of Health said Monday it will investigate the alleged hospital inaction.
And a short time ago the hospital released a statement saying: "We take this very seriously, and are conducting a thorough investigation. Appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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