20 YRS. IN COP SHOOT
Finest saved by bulletproof vest in B’klyn attack
A Brooklyn man was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in jail after pleading guilty to nearly killing a cop whose bulletproof vest saved his life when he was shot while responding to a domestic violence call.
Cops called it a Christmas miracle after NYPD Officer Connor Boalick was shot on Christmas Eve 2020 while responding to a domestic dispute in Crown Heights.
Prosecutors said William Moss, 23, shot the officer after his girlfriend’s mother called 911 and reported that Moss had threatened to come over with a gun.
While officers from Brooklyn’s 77th Precinct were interviewing the girlfriend outside of the building, Moss showed up and fired two shots at her, officials said. The first shot missed. The second shot struck Boalick, then 27, in the back. The bullet lodged in a bulletproof vest the officer was wearing.
Boalick was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was treated for bruising and abrasions to his back and released.
“It’s a miracle Officer Boalick wasn’t more seriously injured or killed when he was shot by this defendant while answering a domestic violence call,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. ”Today’s lengthy prison sentence holds the defendant accountable for his violent actions while underscoring the dangers our police officers face every day to keep us all safe.”
The prosecutor added that Moss and his girlfriend had been arguing over the phone throughout the afternoon and evening.
When he threatened to come over and shoot at the window, the woman’s mother called police, Gonzalez said.
Shortly after 9 p.m., Moss arrived and followed through on his threat, nearly killing a cop in the process.
Moss fled the scene, but two officers chased him and apprehended him two blocks away. They also found his 9-mm. pistol where he had tossed it, officials said.
They added that body camera video shows officers repeatedly telling the shooter to drop his gun.
Moss was initially charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
He pleaded guilty in September to second-degree attempted murder.