CHEERS AS SHOT COP LEAVES HOSP
Tells NYPD boss he’ll be back on job soon
An NYPD cop shot in the back during a Bronx clash with a suspect was released from the hospital Thursday.
Sporting an NYPD cap and a surgical mask, Officer Daniel Vargas gave a hearty thumbs up to the sea of cops cheering him on as he stepped into a waiting van outside Jacobi Medical Center with the help of a few colleagues.
Vargas, a member of the NYPD’s gun violence suppression unit, was shot in the lower back just under his bullet-resistant vest during a sudden and violent clash Tuesday night near Lafayette Ave. and White Plains Road in Soundview.
The alleged shooter, Ajani Jones, was apprehended at the scene and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, which could mean a 20-years-tolife sentence, officials said.
A Bronx Criminal Court judge ordered Jones held without bail during a brief arraignment hearing Wednesday night.
Vargas’ commanding officer was overjoyed to see the
31-year-old cop leaving the hospital under his own power Thursday.
“The fact that 36 hours ago we got a call that an officer was shot under his vest and the round went through his back,” Inspector Jason Savino said. “Imagine getting that call. To see him walking out today, obviously assisted, for us it’s a miracle.”
Vargas has already told his commanding officer he is eager to get back to work.
“I don’t doubt that you will see him back on the streets sooner rather than later,” Savino said.
The confrontation began when Vargas, in a car with other officers, recognized Jones walking on the street seconds before the shooting started, police said.
“They see him,” a police source said of the shooting. “He looks a little suspicious ... He starts walking across the street to get away from them. They surround him and box him in. Then he starts running and as he’s running he shoots.”
Jones, who has a rap sheet that spans two states, lives near where the shooting took place. He fired four times from a weapon stolen in South Carolina and told police he was armed “because it’s dangerous out there,” sources said.
While happy that Vargas was on his way home to recuperate, Pat Lynch, the president of the NYPD’s largest union, the Police Benevolent Association, said more must be done to keep cops safe.
“Why do perps feel so bold that they can carry that weapon with impunity and more importantly to use it?” Lynch asked. “If there is no repercussions for shooting a cop, no repercussions for carrying a gun, the city will start to spiral.”