A New York Police Department (NYPD) detective was shot and wounded Friday in a friendly fire incident, according to authorities.
The series of events unfolded before 9 a.m. near the Whitestone Expressway Service Road and 21st Road, officials said during a press conference.
It all began when an Uber driver parked in a black Toyota Highlander was approached by an armed man, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters. Â When the driver exited the vehicle, the suspect assaulted the victim.
The perpetrator attempted to drive away, but the victim still had possession of the keys, forcing the suspect to return and collide with another car.
In an effort to retrieve the key, the suspect tackled the victim, assaulting him a second time.
He drove away and turned right onto 22nd when responding officers with the 109th precinct blocked the vehicle and attempted to apprehend the suspect.
At that point, Narcotics detectives with Queens South were heading back to their office after executing a wrench warrant when they stopped to help officers with the apprehension. Officers discharged their weapons and a detective was hit in the crossfire. The 12-year veteran was shot in the right hand and left leg. and taken to Jamaica Hospital to undergo surgery. He remains in stable condition, according to police.
The suspect was uninjured.
He has been identified as Kevin Dubuisson, 28, a four-time convicted felon with a long criminal rap sheet of robberies and assaulting officers.
Dubuisson should have not been out on the streets, Tisch told reporters, further blaming criminal justice reform in 2020 that she suggested loosened the city’s laws.
“This chain of events, which could have ended quite differently, began because a career criminal, a person who has terrorized victims for nearly a decade, Â was allowed to continue to his violent spree,” Tisch said, saying its “unconscionable that a violent felon whoo plead guilty to two more robberies was out on the streets to commit crimes again.
“That is criminal justice reform for you,” Tisch said.
Prior to Friday morning’s carjacking, Dubuisson attempted to steal a car from a gas station but was scared off by employees. He also tried to carjack a female driver but the victim’s husband scared him off.
Mayor Eric Adams said Dubuisson recently walked out of one of the city’s criminal justice locations after he was arrested for theft in Manhattan just yesterday.
The incident is a reminder of the current state laws that allow for the “revolving door” of criminal activity, according to Adams.
“Regardless of who shot our detective, there’s one person responbile for starting the chain of events that landed us in the hospital today. This is a man who should have been behind bars and not on our streets,” Adams said.
Putting  dangerous people back on the streets after they committed crimes sends a terrible signal to the public and law enforcement, the mayor added.
“He’s a 28-year old recidivist, with a lengthy rap sheet of robbery and assaulting officers who was on parole for a robbery that took place in March and was literally arrested again yesterday and released with a desk appearance ticket. This is a definition, I believe of insanity. Arresting the same people over and over again and expecting different results.”
Adams further argued his administration has been focused on bringing down crime but needs more help from lawmakers.
Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani during an unrelated press conference described the officer-involved shooting as “horrific” news and said he was praying for the officer’s speedy recovery.
But Adams argued it was Cuomo’s leadership that allowed such Friday’s incident to happen.
