In a sad case of friendly fire, an off duty police officer in Harlem was shot by a fellow police officer last night in a case of mistaken identity. Officer Omar J. Edwards, a recently married father of two from Brooklyn, had just finished his night patrol of the housing projects in East Harlem.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that Officer Edwards was in plain clothes when he was shot in the arm and chest by a team of three other plainclothes officers who mistakened him for an armed criminal.
The team’s members, part of the anticrime unit in the 25th Precinct, were in pursuit of a man on East 125th street between 1st ave and 2nd ave when they approached Edwards.
Police are investigating whether the officers identified themselves or demanded that Officer Edwards drop his weapon before opening fire.
Mr. Kelly did not release the identity of the officer who fired the shots, only saying that the officer is a four-year veteran of the department, and had fired six rounds, two of which fatally struck Officer Edwards.
This case of "friendly fire" is likely to open up a can of worms for the police department which has been dealing with criticism for inadequate communications procedures that has resulted in several similar incidents in recent years.