The Truth About Guns never takes anything at face value. Growing up in Rhode Island, I could hardly do otherwise. So when I read this story in yournabe.com, it was perfectly clear there was more to this shootout (near the final resting place of Albert “Mad Hatter” Anastasia) than met the eye. “The frenzied clash between a heavily armed felon and three undercover cops outside Green-Wood cemetery may have been a case of mistaken identity for everyone involved. Officials said that Prospect Avenue resident Michael Romero, 32, was mistaken for a thug wanted for a series of robberies in Greenwood Heights and Sunset Park when three plainclothes officers rolled up to him on April 1. At the same time, it’s not clear if Romero knew that the two men and woman approaching him were New York’s Finest: An NYPD spokesperson could not confirm whether the trio identified themselves as police officers before guns were flashed and Romero lay dead on Fifth Avenue near 33rd Street.” Of course, there will be an official police investigation. Not. Read on.
Romero died of his injuries at Lutheran Medical Center on Second Avenue between 55th and 56th streets. None of the officers were injured, said Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who praised Hayes for saving her partner. ‘With no time to spare, she acted fast, courageously and professionally, while her partner fought hard to defend himself and his fellow officers.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Police officials described him as a career felon who has been arrested more than 30 times in 15 years, a fact that led some officers to believe that he knew exactly who he was confronting when he drew his piece.
“A guy with this kind of rap sheet must have known that the three people coming towards him in a Crown Victoria were cops,” said one police source.
The cops, however, were apparently mistaken for targeting Romero, who has not actually been connected to the robbery spree plaguing the area.
Don’t you hate it when that happens?
