Car drags cop 2 blocks
‘Fighting for life’ after he’s dragged by car
A BROOKLYN COP, the married father of a 2-year-old girl, was in critical condition Sunday after a teenage boy driving a stolen car dragged him more than two blocks, police sources said.
Officer Dalsh Veve, 35, fired his gun twice as he was pulled along the pavement in East Flatbush, striking the 15-year-old driver, Justin Murrell, in the face, sources said. The teen was in serious condition and expected to survive. Charges were pending early Monday.
Mayor de Blasio praised Veve, a nine-year NYPD veteran.
“Officer Dalsh Veve right now is fighting for his life,” de Blasio said before walking in the Celebrate Israel Parade.
“He represents the American dream. An immigrant child came here, joined the greatest police force in the country and has been an exemplary officer. And right now he is fighting to survive.”
The mayhem began when six plainclothes officers responded to reports of shots fired at Tilden Ave. and E. 53rd St. at 11:50 p.m. Saturday, NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said. Cops quickly determined that 911 callers had actually heard fireworks near a house party.
Veve was questioning the occupants of a black Honda Civic parked at a fire hydrant across from the party when the driver hit the gas, dragging the cop west on Tilden Ave.
Veve fired twice as he was dragged for 21/2 blocks, finally falling free when the Civic made a right on 53rd St., sources said. Fellow officers rushed him to Kings County Hospital.
The car was found abandoned on 53rd St. between Church and Snyder Aves. The Civic had been reported stolen May 16 in Valley Stream, L.I., while its owner was delivering a pizza, police said.
Veve underwent surgery early Sunday to relieve swelling around his brain, a source said.
Meanwhile, Murrell walked into Brookdale University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the face. Police sources said the boy has 11 previous arrests, including a grand larceny bust on May 16. He had three robbery collars in 2015, a burglary pinch last year and a car theft arrest in April.
The teen’s mother declined to comment.
“I don’t want my name in the paper. I don’t have anything to say, I’m sorry,” she said.
The other three occupants of the car, an 18-year-old man and two women, ages 18 and 19, were nabbed by cops searching the neighborhood after the crash, sources said. They were being held at the 67th Precinct stationhouse. No one had been charged early Monday.
Veve arrived in Brooklyn from Haiti with his mother when he was about 12 years old, according to his aunt, Delivrance Veve, 61.
“Yes, he’s the American Dream . . . . He studied. He worked hard to pursue his dreams,” she said at her home in North Bergen, N.J.
She worried for the cop’s wife, Esther.
“He always wanted to be a police officer, ever since he was very young. He would talk about it when he was 9 or 10 years old . . . ” she said. “This is our worst fear come true.”
City Councilman Mathieu Eugene visited Veve’s bedside and said the officer was sleeping after a successful surgery. A cop flashed a hopeful smile outside the hospital following the operation.
Eugene grew up across the street from Veve in Cap-Haitien, Haiti.
“They are very respectful people, very nice, well-educated people,” Eugene said of the Veve family.
The cop’s neighbors in North Baldwin, L.I., were stunned.
Veve embraced the role of guardian for the block — and even plowed snow for the whole street with his John Deere tractor in the winter.
“He’s always looking to help,” neighbor Martha Forrisi said.