Jan 28, 2008 9:20 pm US/Eastern
Officers Named In Fatal 'Friendly Fire' Incident
Off-Duty Mount Vernon Officer Shot To Death Friday Night
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (CBS) ―
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Top row (left to right): Jose Calero, Christian Gutierrez. Bottom row (left to right): Frank Oliveri, Robin Martin.
CBS
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Mount Vernon police officer Christopher Ridley was gunned down outside a Westchester County government building in White Plains just after 5 p.m. on Jan. 25.
CBS
Four Westchester Co. police officers have been taken off the street and are being investigated for their roles in the deadly shooting of a Mt. Vernon police officer on Friday night.
Officer Christopher Ridley was shot to death by Westchester police when he had stepped in to break up a dispute outside the Social Services building on Court Street.
White Plains police, who are leading the investigation, identified Monday the four county law enforcers involved in the shooting as Officers Jose Calero, Christian Gutierrez and Frank Oliveri, and Detective Robin Martin.
Investigators said the number of shots fired -- and who fired those shots -- are still under investigation.
Ridley was shot dead after walking past a spot where homeless people gather, when he intervened in a fight between two men.
CBS 2 learned that Ridley -- off-duty and in street clothes -- ran into the county office building to ask security for help as he tried to capture Anthony Jacobs, a homeless man, who he had seen violently assault another man.
Ridley then apparently ran back outside and confronted Jacobs near the entrance to 85 Court Street. Investigators believe Ridley's gun then discharged at some point, causing four county cops to come running to the scene. Martin and Calero came from inside 85 Court, and Oliveri and Gutierrez came from inside the county office building.
After a brief stand-off, one or more cops opened fire and Ridley was killed.
Holly Savage, a witness to the shooting, told CBS 2 she heard other officers yelling at Ridley.
"Two of the police officers yelled, 'put the gun down' from what I could hear. It was hard to hear because there was so much commotion going on when the cops came out," she said.
Much of the tragic incident was captured on surveillance camera, which is being analyzed extensively. With many in the community questioning how this could happen, White Plains police are promising a thorough and objective investigation.
It was a situation fraught with peril for the rookie officer, according to Kevin Clark, Senior Vice President of Elite Investigations and former Baltimore police commissioner.
"What is most vital in any type of situation like this, a confrontation, is the first few seconds. And the burden of identification lies with the officer who is confronted, whether he is on or off duty, in plain clothes or in uniform," Clark said.
In a sad twist, Martin, one of the county officers who opened fire, had known Ridley's family for many years. "This incident has been just incredibly difficult for all of our officers, and perhaps even a bit more so for Det. Martin," said County Police Commissioner Thomas Belfiore.
The 23-year-old Ridley joined the Mount Vernon force in 2006. The mayor of Mount Vernon called him a "great cop" who was well-liked, but he added there should be no rush to judgment.
"We are still in the fact-finding stage of the investigation. we are waiting for the complete report. The entire city of Mount Vernon is mourning the death of a hero," Mayor Clinton Young said.
Ridley served as a role model in his community as well, working as a youth mentor at the Grace Baptist Church, where his father also worked as the church's head of maintenance.
Members of his family visited the scene of the shooting early Monday for a first-hand look at where he was gunned down.
"I'm always gonna be looking back, someone murdered my son," said Ridley's mother, Felita Bouche. "No matter which way you look at it, someone killed him. He was 23, he just started his life!"
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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