By Andrew Strickler and Erik German
Newsday
NEW YORK — A city police officer fatally shot a man in Washington Heights in the back after he ran from police and threatened them with a pistol, officials said yesterday.
Ronald Battle, 25, who relatives said had traveled from North Carolina to visit his mother at the Ralph J. Rangel Houses, an eight-building complex on Harlem River Drive, died in a grassy area there late Friday after a short chase by police. It was the third police shooting of a suspect in the last two weeks.
Paul Browne, deputy commissioner of public information, said Battle did not respond to “repeated directives to drop the gun,” adding that the shooting appeared to be within department guidelines. A loaded 9-mm automatic handgun was recovered at the scene.
The shooting happened shortly after a woman made two 911 calls about 11 p.m. Friday, reporting two armed men in the area. Two plainclothes officers, part of a 32nd Precinct anti-crime unit, responded and spotted Battle and another man standing on one of the complex’s walkways.
Both officers had their shields around their necks as they approached the men, police said. Police and witnesses said Battle saw the officers and began walking, then running, toward the building where his mother lives in a second-floor apartment.
Witnesses and police said Battle pulled on the building’s door but found it locked and then sprinted around the corner and across a stretch of grass toward another building, with both officers in close pursuit. Browne said Battle partially turned toward one of the officers as he ran, holding a gun at waist level. One of the officers fired four times from a distance of about 20 feet, striking Battle once in the lower back. Battle collapsed and died at the scene, authorities said.
Both officers yelled “Drop it” and “Stop” in the seconds before the shooting, Browne said.
The officer, 34, whom police did not identify, has been on the force for four years. Police said this was the first time he has fired his weapon. Browne said officers involved in shootings typically are assigned to administrative duties during the investigation required after a shooting.
Several eyewitnesses said they heard the officers yell at Battle, but never saw him draw a weapon. Allison Tiller, 18, who said she watched the pursuit and shooting from a distance of about 90 feet, said she heard the officers tell Battle to “drop it.”
“But he never had anything in his hands. He was just holding up his pants,” Tiller said.
Another witness, Asia Peterson, 28, who lives in the same building as his mother, said she saw Battle run with both hands gripping his waistband but did not see a weapon. Police said at least two people said they heard the officers identify themselves and order Battle drop his gun.
Neighbors and friends said Battle, who went by the street name “Corrupt,” was a part-time construction worker. He was born in the city but moved to North Carolina, according to his godmother, Deborah Bobian, 48. She said Battle was visiting his mother, friends and his daughter, Raven, 2, who lives with her mother in the Bronx. According to state records, Battle had been arrested three times for misdemeanor drug possession. In 1998, he was convicted of attempted robbery and completed his sentence of 4 1/2 years in prison.
Police said Battle was involved in a violent attack in the Bronx in August. According to a police source, Battle became angry after a woman at the party made advances on his female friend. He was arrested after he ran from police responding to a 911 call of a fight, officials said.
Police said one woman at the party was stabbed five times and two others were struck with a hammer. All three women were taken to Kings County Hospital Center, where they picked Battle out of a photo lineup, according to officials. Battle was charged with attempted murder, felony assault, and other charges and later released on bail.
Copyright 2007 Newsday