NYC police sergeant charged with murder

NEW YORK — A New York City police sergeant who fatally shot a mentally ill woman inside her Bronx apartment in October was charged Wednesday with murder in connection with the woman’s death.

The arrest of the sergeant, Hugh Barry, follows months of investigation into the deadly encounter with the 66-year-old woman, Deborah Danner.

Sgt. Barry, an eight-year veteran assigned to the 43rd Precinct, was charged with second-degree murder, firstand second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and was suspended without pay.

Police officers rarely face criminal charges in connection with on-duty deaths, and murder charges are rarer still.

Ms. Danner was killed Oct. 18 after Sgt. Barry and other officers responded to 911 calls of a woman acting erratically at an apartment building in the Castle Hill neighborhood.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the police commissioner, James P. O’Neill, said Sgt. Barry had failed to follow police protocol for dealing with people with mental illness. Specifically, he did not use his stun gun to try to subdue Ms. Danner, and he did not wait for a specialized Emergency Service Unit to arrive.

On Wednesday afternoon, Sgt. Barry’s lawyer, Andrew Quinn, entered a plea of not guilty on his behalf. Judge Neary set bail at $100,000.

Initially, police said that Sgt. Barry persuaded Ms. Danner to drop a pair of scissors, but that she picked up a bat and tried to swing at him.

The encounter ended with Sgt. Barry firing twice, fatally wounding her.