Crime scene Brooklyn (courtesy nydailynews.com)

Regular readers know that New York Finest suck at hitting what they shoot at. The cops’ official hit rate (as of 2008): 34 percent. That’s pretty damn bad. But not as bad as 1.19 percent. And that’s the stat we derive from this story [via nydailynews.com] partially captured on autoplay video after the jump [turn up the sound for the full effect] . . .

A gun-toting Brooklyn bandit dodged more than 80 police bullets early Friday in a wild street shootout that began with a botched armed robbery and ended with his arrest, officials said.

Oft-apprehended Jerrol Harris, 27, was busted around 1:10 a.m. when a single bullet — out of 84 fired at him — pierced his calf to end a blocks-long police pursuit through Bushwick, cops said.

The running gun battle came to a head when Harris opened fire with a stolen .45-caliber pistol, discharging at least six shots at two cops using their parked patrol car to cut off his escape route.

“He fired at them, and they fired back,” said NYPD Deputy Commissioner Stephen Davis. “That’s when he was hit.”

A witness said Harris collapsed in the street once he was finally wounded, with a black handgun and a small pile of spent bullet shells alongside him.

The crippling gunshot came in the second of two firefights with cops while Harris was on the run after shooting a Brooklyn man during a robbery try, police said.

A half-dozen cops fired on the fleeing suspect, who squeezed off a half-dozen rounds in return from his black Taurus Millennium pistol. No police officers were wounded.

Nor bystanders, thankfully. Though property for sure. Anyway, we’ve said it before, we’ll say it again: the New York City Police Department needs a thorough overhaul of both its firearms (the dreaded New York trigger GLOCKs) and their firearms training. Until then, it’s only a matter of time before the Big Apple cops [once again] perforate an innocent bystander. Or nine. [h/t AM]

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81 COMMENTS

  3. That’s not a miss ratio, it’s simply suppressive fire. Similar to shock and awe but on a smaller scale and not as impressive or fun.

  4. Yep, a 12lb trigger, a 35,000 man dept, 1 training range, and new recruits who have never touched a gun is not a recipe for proficiency. It’s nearly impossible to train a 35,000 man force with the limited training facilities possessed by the NYPD. On the bright side, they didn’t hit 83 bystanders.

    • Bu…bu…but…but…police are the only one with enough training and responsibility to carry those mean guns. I mean, if it takes police 84 shots to hit an underprivileged, down on his luck fellow, imagine how much worse it would have been if some (shudder) ‘gun owner’ had done it.

      Just unthinkable.

      /sarcasm

  6. This is exactly what the NYC management wants.

    Why? Because shootings are rare , ammo costs money, and the media and voting base hate guns .

    Even 100 rounds of practice per month adds up to a big bill when looking at the NYPDs staff level. Atop that, the New York Times and every east coast media outlet would run this front page headline : “POLICE TRAINING MORE TO SHOOT MINORITIES AND ETHNIC PEOPLE”.

    Better a neighborhood gets turned into Swiss cheese from stray rounds then for the Mayor to have to explain on live TV to the Liberal voting bloc that yes, occasionally cops have to kill people on the job.

    • ” “POLICE TRAINING MORE TO SHOOT MINORITIES AND ETHNIC PEOPLE”. ”

      I hate to say it, but that has the distinctive stench of truth…

  8. NYPD needs to return to the .38 revolver. Their shooting wouldn’t improve, they’d just have a lower rate of fire so the number of chances of knocking off an innocent bystander is reduced.

  9. So, Jerrol fired at least 7 rounds? And the story says Jerrol shot a guy.
    Maybe the PDNY should take shooting lessons from ol Jerrol.

  10. There was another recently in NYC I think, where the undercover was involved in a drug deal, ID himself, perp ran and displayed replica firearm at which point cop shot a bystander, dead I think. Then consider a recent cop shooting where they broke out the cavalry to find the shooter, I mean armored cars, helicopters and coppers looking like SEALs and Delta commandos. If only they would do such when a civvy was shot. They can keep their sticking fraternity. They protect and serve themselves and we get the crumbs. This is why you should carry, and should probably invest in body armor and a good security door, so at least you can slow them down and call 911 when they’re serving the warrant on the wrong house.

    • All dogs within a 10 block radius were summarily executed on the possibility that they might make furtive moves causing New York’s Finest to explosively shit their pants.

    • That depends on who you what the safe from, the cops shooting the dog or someone doing something else to the dogs

  13. You know, maybe the anti 2A’s have it all wrong. If the general public uses these ‘low hit ratio’ bullets that NYPD uses, then the thugs & BG’s wouldn’t kill as many people.

    Right?

    /sarc

  14. And of course the REAL reason New York has gun control is so the innocent people can’t defend themselves from the berserk, trigger-happy Keystone Kops in the NYPD…

  16. 1 hit out of 84 for 6 of the NYPDs finest marksmen.
    Not bad…………for them.
    Says a lot for their training and being stuck with a Glock gazzilion lb trigger.
    Maybe if some of those finest are old timers they might have had a S&W or even a Sig.
    Perpetrators should have a picture of a barn painted on them. Might help the NYPD a bit with their hit percentages.

  18. Dam even 3 world police dpts have better hitting skills. Hate to see what happens when they break out the 12 ga.

  21. Sorry, we need that training to make sure the guns don’t ‘accidentally go off.’ And we can’t have more firearms training because we’re too busy with community policing training.

  22. So, basically, you have a better chance at contracting legionnaires disease and dieing, than you do dieing in a shootout with NYPD….

    • Unless, that is, you happen to be an innocent unarmed sheep …er…citizen of New York City that the cops have somehow gotten into their heads that you are a dangerous, armed felon. THEN, you are likely to die in a doorway clutching your wallet (which you tried to show them for ID purposes…) and riddled like a Swiss cheese.

  23. Guys and gals, you are looking at this all wrong. Do you know how difficult it is to expend 84 rounds in a running gun battle in NYC and not hit anyone. Try it sometime.

    • So, you propose a gun club come up with a course of fire where the worst shot wins? Or it’s a win if none of the shooters accidently hits the sro’s and spectators?

      My heads hurting now.

  24. The hit location tells me that it was just a lucky shot too. I guarantee they were all trying to hold center mass, or maybe head shots, and they connected with a calf. Sounds like a text book low and left (or right) jerk of the trigger.

  27. As I understand it back in the day NYPD did one annual 50 shot qual and officers only received 50 training rounds per year. Any idea what the current protocol is?

    It’s possible that some NYPD officer might be here. But since this is a website for folks with an interest in firearms I’m guessing not.

    • Seems to me you and I go to the range on our own dime when the chances of getting into a gun battle are slim. If my job greatly increased the odds and my life depended on my shooting skills, I would spend more time at the range than sexual harrasement training

  29. they’re the second worst marksmen in the galaxy– behind the Vorlons.

    (hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy)

  30. This story displays the absurdity of believing that untrained civilians with guns are a match for a scumbag criminal who has little interest in anyone’s life-let alone their own. If trained LEO’s are not as effective as they should be…

    • Well apparently, john, the nypd isn’t trained either. So how would it hurt to allow nyc residents to exercise their civil rights and carry a gun. They couldn’t do a worse job than nypd and might do better.

      The people that will rob and murder are armed already. So, other than nypd egos taking a hit, I see no down side to letting people exercise their rights.

    • Well, you can base your opinion on speculation, but I prefer to look to the data which shows civilians who are armed do a damned fine job of stopping criminals, in their homes and on the streets. Those with carry permits have a better track record than police with hitting the bad guy, not hitting bystanders and even not committing crimes. So I don’t see any support for your view in the actual data.

      If anything it shows the absurdity of extrapolating improperly from incidents like this. Oh and as for your name, John Q. Public, please stop using, we are a closer representation of the public than you are.

    • >> This story displays the absurdity of believing that untrained civilians with guns are a match for a scumbag criminal

      Absolutely, it does. It’s a good thing that most civilians who routinely carry guns are trained, and most of them train way more often and thoroughly than NYPD, apparently.

    • The point is they have next to no training and therefore can’t perform the job. I shot more rounds than that yesterday on a whim…50 rounds a year is pathetic….just like you, you troll.

  31. “dodged more than 80 police bullets”

    Apparently Neo isn’t the only one with mastery of the Matrix…

  32. What was it you wrote, in the other article, about StormTroopers not being able to hit the broad side of a barn?

  33. This is why only highly trained and skilled military and police operators should be allowed to have guns. The poorly trained and skilled general public might fire 84 rounds and only get one hit.

  35. There is another message in this case and where the undercover “elite” nypst cop killed an innocent bystander.

    If you are a bad guy the city is the best place to stick up a place. Even if the bad guy is surrounded, the cops will miss him and hit innocent civilians or each other.

    OTOH, near a range near Charlotte, NC, I saw a deputy sheriff (using a 223 pistol) hit a styrofoam head at 100 yards consistently while standing with no support. I asked him why and he said no one was shooting at him at 100 yards without him having a chance. His ammo, his pistol. So where do you think ISIS will strike first, rural America or urban America (where all the goods shooters are . . .not)?

    Have I mentioned to “fear the police, for they will kill you”.

  36. Hey, good for the NYPD, they managed to avoid hitting 9 innocent people this time. They must have been practicing.

  37. Wow! I am not sure what to say. I do not like being an armchair quarter back, but jeez, as the old saying goes, every bullet comes with a lawyer. Do they even think about where the bullets go after they leave the firearm? If I had to guess, time dilation and tunnel vision with little or no training on how to deal with it.

  38. Step 1: Take someone with only the most basic firearms training.
    Step 2: ongoing training is no more than 50 shots every 6 months.
    step 3: give them a 12lb trigger.

    Why is anyone surprised they can’t hit shit?

  39. To the author and the rest of you critical “know nothing” arm chair QB’s who don’t have a clue: Try running in and out of cover and concealment while being fired upon all the while needing to maintain awareness of cross-fire and innocents potentially downrange AND with the ever present knowledge that your every move is going to be scrutinized by every media pundit and citizen in the ENTIRE FREAKING WORLD! And yes as a veteran (now retired) officer who was in a shooting (I hit the bad guy 1 for 6) as he was doing his best to kill me and two other ofcrs. with his 3600lb. car as he circled around, over and back an open field. Try dodging a car driven by a crazed, convicted felon high on crack while trying to drag an already struck and injured officer and not shoot your other partner in the process. Harry Reasoner, the renowned journalist (the likes of which none of you are even worthy of being his paper boy back in the day, let alone write about something which none of you have the physical, mental, psychological, or emotional means of accomplishing as a modern era law enforcement officer) took one turn in a FATS(FireArmsTrainingSimulator) and much like the Ferguson activist who also tried it ended up “shooting” everything or got “wasted” himself. If you think you can do better I suggest you put the beer or ganja down, study for months on end for the exams, get your fat a$& in shape, get at least a two-year degree as most departments now require at least that if not a Bachelor degree, and be prepared for six to twelve months of grueling academic, mental, psychological and practical training in a quasi-militaristic setting that’s necessary because of some of the human turds cops have to encounter in the cities and communities they serve. Until then I will politely suggest you S.T.F.U.
    Respectfully,
    Cpl./Det. S.D.Roberts (retired FWPD)

    • of grueling academic, mental, psychological and practical training
      ————————–
      I’m going on record that your concept of grueling academic, mental, psychological and practical training and my concept of grueling academic, mental, psychological and practical training are not the same.

  41. I would expect higher hit rates than this from suppressing or covering fire, these clowns need to find alternative employment. It is clear that law enforcement is not heir calling.

    • And I suppose you’re in possession of a graduate degree in criminal justice and AND have acquired at a minimum double digit years experience as a cop on the street which only then begins to allow you to sit in judgement? What’s that? No? Then you to can shut the F up , close your piehole Mr. Doofus and quit spewing the fecal matter making its way from your brain which is obviously connected to your fat a$& because I for one hold you and your baseless opinion in complete and total contempt.

      • And all that experience means what? You still can’t hit the broad side of a barn if it fell on you. Law enforcement training is a joke.

  42. There is nothing wrong with the NY trigger. You just need a 3 1/2 lb trigger spring to go with it. The NY trigger mechanism is great. Many competitive shooters configure the NY trigger properly and hit the target. The problem with NYPD is people who have never spent a day working in the field are making the rules.

  43. Hey, the gun con-trolls were right. Mandating that the NYPD’s trigger pulls are set ridiculiously high is actually making NYC safer – FOR BAD GUYS!

    for innocent bystanders, not so much.

  44. Do these keystone cops even have to qualify with their weapons. My 9 year old shoots better than these puds.

  45. Will new york include new york city ever shall issue getting as illinois ??
    I want an court seen to force them !!

  46. What’s a “bullet shell”? Is that the exoskeleton of the bullet? Is it sloughed off on a seasonal basis?

  49. It is the anti-gunners that blame the NRA for all this gun violence. It looks to me that the police are to blame for the “reckless indifference to the value of human life”. I took the NRA hunters safety course and they taught me “Know your target.” Do the police know what they are shooting or is it a “spray and pray” they don’t kill an innocent bystander? What would the anti-gunners say if an anti-gunner was killed by random police fire? mrpresident2016.com

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