Finest shot at car thief susp who ran over a cop’s foot
An NYPD officer opened fire on a suspected car thief Wednesday after the man drove over another cop’s foot, police said.
Officer Robert Delaney shot at a stolen white BMW SUV driven by Justin Santiago at Pennsylvania and Cozine Aves. in East New York, Brooklyn, at 3:30 a.m., cops said.
The owner of the car tracked the luxury vehicle from New Jersey to the city using a phone app and called 911 to report the location, police said.
Delaney and Officer Thomas Costigan tried to box in Santiago, 30, with Delaney in back and Costigan approaching from the front, authorities said.
Santiago put the car in reverse, then shifted into drive and took off.
In doing so, police said, he ran over Costigan’s foot, prompting Delaney to fire because he thought Costigan was going to be dragged by the fleeing car.
The shooting will be reviewed by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division.
No one was hit by the shot. Costigan was treated at Kings County Hospital, as was Delaney, who had ringing in his ears.
Santiago was tracked as he got on the Belt Parkway, exited in Queens and drove through Woodhaven, where the BMW was found parked and unoccupied at 95th Ave. and 85th St., cops said.
Santiago removed the New Jersey license plate and swapped it for a Pennsylvania plate to avoid detection, police said.
He was nabbed after a brief foot chase. He suffered a minor shoulder injury and was taken to Brookdale University Hospital. Charges were pending.
Santiago’s arrest history includes a number of cases involving stolen cars, unauthorized use of vehicles and petty larceny, police said. According to records, he has a pending case from a 2019 Staten Island arrest involving a vehicle and stolen property.