More Deception (Racism) from NYPD in Road Raged Murder of Unarmed Latino Army Reservist: Officer said Polanco was Reaching for a Power Drill Under the Seat after Traffic Stop
/From [HERE] NYPD Internal Affairs and the Queens DA's office are investigating the fatal shooting of an unarmed Army Reservist, amid a witness's claim that the victim had his hands on the steering wheel. However, according to the Daily News, the same witness "contradicts her later assertions that Noel Polanco had both hands on the wheel when he was shot on the Grand Central Parkway" in a police report.
On October 4, Polanco had cut off an ESU vehicle on the Grand Central Parkway, and when he was pulled over (police say he was driving erratically), Detective Hassan Hamdy shot him. A passenger in the car, Diane DeFerrari, said Polanco's hands were on the steering wheel and that Hamdy acted out of "road rage," telling reporters, "Noel didn’t have a chance to put his hands up. Officer's screamed, ‘Put your hands up!’ and shot at the same time." The other passenger in Polanco's car was off-duty NYPD officer Vanessa Rodriguez, who claims she slept through the entire thing. [MORE] now that's funny.
However, the police report "told a slightly different tale more beneficial to Hamdy... 'She saw Mr. Polanco with his hands on the steering wheel and when she looked forward she saw a white male, short, stocky, wearing a vest, fire a round from a handgun,' the report says. 'She did not see Mr. Polanco reaching or making any furtive movements when she was looking at him,' the report continued. 'However, she did look away prior to him being shot.'" Hamdy reportedly thought Polanco was reaching for something; police only found a power drill in the car. According to the Wall Street Journal, after the incident police said that the drill was under the driver seat. [MORE] Pyscopath Hamdy approached from the passenger side, aimed his gun at Polanco while DeFarrari was still sitting in the car. So, instead of complying with police orders, this army reservist was going to reach under the driver's seat, snag the drill, plug it into the cigarrette lighter and then reach over the passenger to drill a hole into this outlaw cop who was aiming a loaded semi-automatic at him? If you believe in that then you do believe in white supremacy - it is your religion.
Diane Deferrari, said in a phone interview last Thursday night that just before pulling the car over, officers appeared irate that Mr. Polanco had cut them off. She said that some of the officers — but not Detective Hamdy — stuck up their middle fingers and were screaming obscenities from one of the moving police trucks. [MORE]
“As soon as we stopped — they were rushing the car,” Ms. Deferrari said. “It was like an army.”
She said a group of officers swarmed the car, yelling for the three people in Mr. Polanco’s car to put their hands up. Mr. Polanco, whose hands were still on the steering wheel, had no time to comply, Ms. Deferrari said. At that instant, a shot rang out, and Mr. Polanco gasped for air, she said. [MORE]
Ms. Deferrari didn't dispute the police account that Mr. Polanco cut off the police vehicles. Police have not indicated whether any other drivers or pedestrians were affected by Polanco's driving. Nor whether he had any drugs or alcohol in his body. [MORE]
Still, the entire episode—from when Polanco's driving was noticed by the police to the shooting—apparently only lasted 60 seconds. The News also offered these details from the report:
The officers in the unmarked police van noticed the wildy veering car too, and Polanco’s vehicle then cut in between the van and another police vehicle.
Van driver Sgt. Thomas Glaudino flipped on the emergency lights and siren, pulled alongside Polanco and raised his middle finger, DeFerrari said.
“Motherf-----, you cut me off!” he shouted as Polanco accelerated. Glaudino claimed he was motioning with his index finger for the suspect to pull over.
DeFerrari told cops that she asked Polanco to follow the directions, but he resisted, telling her, “I’m only going 50 miles.” He then hit the gas, speeding up to about 60 to 70 mph, she said.
“I’m nervous,” she told him. “Dude, stop the car. Stop the car. I’m scared.”
After the blue van forced Polanco to stop on the left side of the highway, the cops came pouring out, she said. The gunshot fired by Hamdy happened in a heartbeat, DeFerrari said.
Polanco was buried last week; he was also posthumously promoted to sergeant.