Exclusive video shows moment 2 NYPD sergeants were shot pursuing suspect
NEW YORK -- Exclusive video obtained by CBS News New York shows the moment two NYPD sergeants were shot by a man they were chasing on foot.
The pursuit started after NYPD Sergeants Carl Johnson and Christopher Leap responded to a robbery on Manhattan's Lower East Side Thursday afternoon.
Suspect pulled gun out of pocket during pursuit
The suspect, identified as Joshua Dorsett, a 22-year-old known gang member, pulled a gun out of his pocket and shot the sergeants at close range as they pinned him against a car to arrest him, police said.
The surveillance video shows one sergeant limping and the other still trying to take the suspect into custody after the shooting.
A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said.
"The officers are on the front lines doing the dangerous work to make our city safer," Mayor Eric Adams said.
Sergeants wounded, but expected to recover
A single bullet struck the sergeants, according to police.
Johnson, 43, was shot in the leg and is expected to be released from Bellevue Hospital on Friday. Leap, 34, suffered a graze wound and was released hours after the shooting.
Johnson and Leap are expected to make full recoveries. Johnson has been with the department for 16 years, and Leap has been with the department for 11.
"They're in good spirits, but make no mistake. Today could have turned out very different," NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said Thursday.
Gunman was suspected of robbing women
According to investigators, Dorsett was suspected of stealing women's purses at gunpoint on Canal Street before the encounter with police.
The sergeants heard screams while investigating an illegal smoke shop nearby and responded. Chaos unfolded as a foot chase ensued.
"They had him on top of the car, three of them, and then the guy still has his hand down here, so they put him on the top of the car, and then I heard the shots, boom boom," said witness Francisco Huayta.
Dorsett was officially charged Friday with robbery, two counts of attempted murder of a police officer and one count of criminal possession of a loaded gun.
"Yet again, your officers confronted a violent criminal who had no problem carrying an illegal fun on our streets," Caban said.
Police say Dorsett is a gang member with prior arrests.