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An NYPD cop was shot off the Whitestone Expressway on Friday in what is believed to be a friendly fire incident as several cops responded to a carjacking attempt. Screenshot via Google Maps
By Ryan Schwach
An NYPD narcotics detective was shot by other cops during a wild carjacking attempt on the Whitestone Expressway in Queens Friday morning.
The officer, a 12-year veteran of the department, was reportedly shot in what is believed to be a friendly fire incident as several officers responded to an attempted carjacking by a suspect with a history of criminal behavior.
He was shot in the arm and leg and is expected to recover.
“These injuries are not life threatening,” Mayor Eric Adams said from Jamaica Hospital. “We just visited his mom and his wife, who is expecting a child at this time, and it was relieving to them that their loved one would be okay, and I want to thank him for his bravery.”
The carjacking suspect whose actions allegedly sparked the incident, 28-year-old Kevin Dubuisson, is a multiple time felon with a long rap sheet including violence against police.
According to officials, Dubuisson was out on parole, and was last arrested on Thursday, having been reportedly released on Friday just before the incident with a desk appearance ticket.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the violence began when Dubuisson allegedly walked up to a black Toyota Highlander that was being used as an Uber parked along the side of the Whitestone Expressway Service Road near 22nd Road.
Just before 9 a.m., Dubuisson allegedly knocked on the window of the Uber, and showed the driver a gun, telling him that it was a robbery.
The driver got out of the car and was allegedly assaulted by Dubuisson. The driver then called 911 as Dubuisson attempted to drive away, but was unable to since the driver still had the car keys.
Dubuisson allegedly then returned to the driver, assaulting him again and taking the keys, returning to the vehicle and attempting again to make a getaway.
At that point, officers from the 109th Precinct arrived, and attempted to apprehend Dubuisson.
Another set of officers, Queens South Narcotics detectives returning from executing a warrant, saw the unfolding situation and attempted to use their vehicle to block the Highlander in.
It is unclear by the commissioner’s account what happened next, but at 8:57 a.m. three officers from the 109th Precinct fired their weapons, and one of the narcotics detectives was hit.
Dubuisson was not injured and was taken into custody. As of Friday afternoon no gun belonging to him had been recovered.
Detectives believe the friendly fire was a result of crossfire.
“The narcotics detectors were in the front of the perpetrator car, the [officers from the 109th Precinct] were in the rear,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
The officer was rushed to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition, where he remains.
Tisch described him as “conscious and alert,” and in “good spirits.”
Dubuisson’s alleged attempts at carjacking and robbery did not begin on the Whitestone Expressway.
Tisch said that just moments before the violence occurred, Dubuisson had allegedly twice attempted to steal other vehicles.
At 8:40 a.m., the suspect allegedly attempted to steal a car from a gas station on Parsons Boulevard and 20th Avenue, but was scared off by employees. Just two minutes after that, he allegedly attempted to carjack a woman near the gas station, but was scared off by the woman’s husband.
The woman also reported that Dubuisson “appeared” to have had a gun.
Dubuisson, according to the commissioner, has 10 previous arrests, including for multiple knife point robberies and multiple assaults on police officers.
He has been convicted of felonies four times, and had just been released from prison in March. Police say.
Speaking from Jamaica Hospital on Friday afternoon, Adams ridiculed the criminal justice system and reforms, arguing that Dubuisson should not have been out on the streets.
“I want to be clear, regardless of who shot our detective, there’s one person responsible for starting the chain of events that landed us at the hospital today,” Adams said. “This is a man who should have been behind bars, not on our streets.”
“This is a definition, I believe, of insanity,” Adams added. “You arrest the same people, over and over again and expecting different results…it’s clear that this individual has no business walking free and endangering New Yorkers.”
Tisch described the 28-year-old as a “career criminal… who has terrorized victims for nearly a decade.”
“It is unconscionable that a violent predicate felon who pleaded guilty to two more robberies was out on the streets to commit his crimes today,” she said. “That is criminal justice reform for you.”
Adams has long argued that recidivism is one of the main drivers of crime in the city, which he reiterated on Tuesday.
“We cannot allow repeated offenders to commit repeated violent acts in our city,” he said.
Lindy Jones and Guy Rivera, the two men charged in the shooting death of another Queens police officer, Detective Jonathan Diller in March 2024, both had over 20 prior arrests.
“We’ve been talking about the severe recidivism of dangerous people over and over again, on how do we stop them from coming into our streets – there’s a total disregard,” Adams said after that incident, also at Jamaica Hospital.
Queens officials spoke in support of the wounded officer following the incident on Friday.
“Every single one of us deserves to make it home to our families safely at the end of each work day,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. “Luckily, the NYPD officer shot this morning in Whitestone will make a full recovery and be able to feel the embrace of his family today. But as we’ve seen too many times in recent years, that is not always the case when one of our public servants in uniform falls victim to senseless gun violence in our city.”
“Today is a stark reminder of the dangers our law enforcement officers face every single shift, and I know all of us in Queens are deeply grateful for the service and selflessness of our NYPD officers who work tirelessly to keep our families safe,” the BP added.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said prosecutors were on scene following the shooting.
“My office is working closely with the NYPD as we gather all the facts in this case,” she said.
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