Officers In Fatal Shooting Of Brooklyn Man Taken Off The Streets For Investigation
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police have released more details of what happened following a shooting late Thursday night in Brooklyn.
Duane Browne was shot and killed by police. The NYPD said Browne was armed with a gun when he was confronted by officers responding to a robbery at his home.
"Well, we're just waiting for answers. That's all we can do right now," friend Jasmine Williams told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez on Friday.
"He makes a good living. He stays by his self. He's always in the house. It's just messed up that they just took him like that," said Neola Kyte, Browne's sister.
Police were called to the 26-year-old's home in East New York on Thursday night.
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Friends and family said Browne was a hard-working college graduate and devoted father to his 7-year-old son Dasani.
"I want them to do their job and to make sure that they're held accountable. My cousin wasn't supposed to die last night, not the way he did," said Shawnte Brown.
Police said uniformed officers came to the front of 943 Schenk Ave., after a woman outside called 911, saying her boyfriend was being robbed by two gunmen.
"She ran past them and got in back of the radio car. She said there were two armed men in the back of the house with her boyfriend," NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
When the officers arrived, police said they found the 911 caller who told the responding officers "They have guns."
The robbers fled the home as police arrived and minutes later, the boyfriend, Duane Browne's half-brother, came out the back door and was taken into protective custody. Soon after, police said, Browne appeared at the same door, carrying an illegal .38 caliber revolver and dressed in pajamas.
"He failed to comply with an officer's instructions not to move and was shot once in the chest," Kelly said.
One hour later, Browne was pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital.
"He was in his house. He was trying to protect his family from what he thought was intruders. How that got misconstrued and what happened, it's unfortunate," said Shawnte Brown.
Police released a photo of the gun they said Duane Browne was carrying.
Earlier, Renita Ferdinand, said she and Duane Browne were upstairs watching a movie when he heard a strange noise. Ferdinand said the next thing she heard was a gunshot and then Browne came crawling back up the stairs, bleeding from the chest.
"He said 'call the cops, I got shot,'" she said. "He didn't say who. He fell and the eyes rolling back in his head. Police came, they drew guns on me and him while he was down and they just stood over him asking who was he but you could see him bleeding."
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Police said an officer shot Browne after he ignored repeated orders by cops to "freeze," but family members are calling the shooting suspicious.
"They're trying to cover something up because they stay too long in that house," said Browne's mother, Alice Bynoe Browne. "They've been there for hours trying to cover up what they want to cover up."
Duane Brown's relatives said he was killed while defending his home against burglars.
"Tell them to turn the hands of time back. Take the house. Take my car. Take everything. Just give me my son and I'll be happy," said Alice Bynoe Browne.
Police said Duane Browne had a lengthy criminal record.
Two officers were taken to the hospital and treated for trauma. Internal Affairs was still debriefing the officers involved in the shooting Friday night.
All of the officers have been placed on administrative duty while the investigation continues.
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