Teenager Shot by Police After iPod Robbery

By MICHELLE O'DONNELL and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM
Published: October 26, 2005

A Brooklyn teenager matching the description of someone who had just committed an armed robbery was in stable condition last night after being shot twice by two police lieutenants, the police said. The shooting occurred about 7 p.m. on Dean Street near Carlton Avenue, after four men, one of whom brandished what looked like a silver handgun with a black grip, approached a man outside a liquor store at Flatbush and St. Marks Avenues and demanded his iPod, according to a police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation was in its earliest stages. Nearby on Dean Street at Carlton Avenue, the lieutenants, both plainclothes officers assigned to the 77th Precinct, were on patrol in an unmarked vehicle when they heard the description and realized that it matched that of Mr. Higgins, whom they saw walking on Dean Street, the official said.

The lieutenants chased after him. One ran after Mr. Higgins, who was heading eastbound on Dean Street, while the other drove after him and then pulled the car up onto the curb in front of a building at 618 Dean Street to prevent Mr. Higgins from going inside, the police said. At some point outside the building, Mr. Higgins displayed what looked like a gun, the official said.

The lieutenant running after Mr. Higgins fired 15 shots. It was not clear last night if Mr. Higgins was struck by any of them. The lieutenant in the car then ran after Mr. Higgins, who was backtracking and running west on Dean Street. That officer shot at Mr. Higgins seven times before tackling him at Carlton Avenue and Dean Street, the official said. see the full New York Times article here