Latest news with #EmergencyServiceUnit
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
NYPD K-9 handler's ‘best friend' named after dad — who was killed in line of duty when she was 9
NYPD K-9 Officer Katarina Narvaez became a cop to honor her dad who was killed in the line of duty in Brooklyn — and his memory lives on right by her side, every day at work. Narvaez, 37, was just 9 years old when her best friend in the world — Lt. Frederico Narvaez — was fatally shot while responding to a domestic incident in Flatbush on Oct. 18, 1996. Twenty-two years later, when she joined the K-9 team of the NYPD's Emergency Service Unit, she met her new best friend, a wire-haired pointer/Labrador mix pooch. So she named him Freddy. 'I feel honored that they let me name him after my dad,' Narvaez said. 'I wasn't sure if they were going to allow that. It meant a lot to me when they said that I could.' Now she hangs out all the time with with Freddy, an 8-year-old specialist in finding guns, and anything that can explode, including potassium chlorate, C4, dynamite and other compounds. She and Freddy showed off his impressive sniffer Wednesday to The Post at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Red Hook, where ESU canines are based. Navaez led Freddy toward three abandoned vehicles where another cop hid a fake pistol dipped in gunpowder. Once released from his collar, Freddy excitedly sniffed around the first two vehicles but came up empty. When he got to the third car, however, he slowed down and zeroed in on the right front bumper. Then, he sat down – which means he hit pay dirt. ''Freddy has a great nose,' said ESU Detective and trainer Christina Orlando. After Freddy found the gun, Narvaez threw him a rope — his favorite toy — as a reward. 'Such a good dog!' she cooed. Narvaez still gets emotional when she talks about her dad, who was working in the 70th Precinct in Flatbush when he answered a call of a woman being stalked. When Narvaez arrived after calling for backup, career criminal Harvey Richardson, 61, turned and fired, striking him in the face as he exited his patrol car before he could get off a shot. Responding cops shot Richardson dead. 'He was a great dad,' she said, choking up. 'He was just an awesome guy to be around. I looked forward to Mondays because that was his RDO (regular day off). I could just go home after school and we'd just hang out for the rest of the day.' Narvaez learned about K-9 cops after her dad was killed. 'When I was a kid and found out you could work with dogs, I was like, 'I can be a police officer and work with dogs?'' she recalled. ''Come on! Sign me up.'' Narvaez dropped out of Hunter College after being accepted into the NYPD and has been an officer for 12 years, starting out in her dad's old 70 Precinct. 'I feel like the primary goal of a police officer is to help people and I really enjoy doing that,' she said. 'And that's what made me want to be a cop.' When she was moved to the Emergency Services Unit and paired with Freddy, she was ecstatic. Soon, Freddy will be staying home while Navaez, who is married, is at work. NYPD canines retire at 9, so she's about to be paired with a new dog. 'It's scary,' said the cop, who lives with Freddy 24/7. 'This guy's my best friend. He comes with me everywhere . . . I don't know what I'm gonna do.'
Yahoo
03-03-2025
- Yahoo
Barricaded suspect accused of wounding cop in Manhattan indicted on attempted murder charges
A suspected gunman who shot an NYPD officer while barricaded in a Manhattan apartment has been indicted on attempted murder and weapon possession charges, officials said Monday. Prosecutors said Edwin Rivera, 34, nearly killed a cop when he fired through a Lower East Side apartment door after a long, tense standoff with detectives who were trying to execute a search warrant last month. Cops said Rivera had actually opened fire on cops two separate times during the four-hour lockdown, and wounded a detective when he shot at cops the second time. Rivera was also wounded during the exchange, and arrested, officials said. 'We have absolutely no tolerance for any conduct that harms police officers, and the charges in this indictment reflect the seriousness with which we are treating this incident,' said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 'I want to thank the members of the NYPD who put on their uniforms every day to selflessly protect New Yorkers. Their jobs are incredibly dangerous, and I hope the detective who was shot will continue to recover from his injuries. I thank him, and everyone else on the scene that day, for their bravery and commitment to keeping everyone safe.' According to cops and court records, police were trying to execute a search warrant shortly after 5 a.m. at a sixth-floor apartment at NYCHA's Vladeck Houses on Madison St. Rivera, a convicted felon with multiple prior arrests for gun possession and narcotics, quickly barricaded himself inside, using a couch to block the entry door, officials said. A police Emergency Service Unit was looking for guns at the location, cops said. When cops made their first attempt to get inside, Rivera shot at them, hitting an officer's ballistic shield, police said. No one was hurt that time, and the officers did not return fire. Cops pulled back and tried to negotiate with him, and even launched a FaceTime session with the suspect until he cut off communication, officials said. At one point, cops thought a woman was being held hostage in the apartment, but he was in the unit alone. After they lost contact with Rivera, the officers tried to get in again. That's when he opened fire once more, shooting a cop in the shoulder and getting wounded when they returned fire, according to the indictment. 'The shooting of a uniformed police officer is an attack on our entire city,' said Police Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. 'This indictment serves as a stark reminder of the dangers that NYPD police officers face every day while working to keep New York City safe. As their noble work continues, we remain committed to closely collaborating with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to ensure that those who endanger the security of New Yorkers are held fully accountable.' Rivera was charged with first-degree and second-degree attempted murder, attempted assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Cops said Rivera threw a bag of drugs through his window onto the street. Rivera was struck in his leg and torso. The officer, a 20-year department veteran, was treated and released. Tisch called Rivera 'a career criminal' who should not have been out of jail. She said he has been out on parole four times, including for a November arrest for criminal possession of stolen property in which he was charged only with resisting arrest, 'We're grateful for his safety, but we're also angry,' Mayor Adams said at the time. 'We're angry because the shooter is a violent, repeated offender with prior gun arrests, who was on parole for narcotics use and sales,'
