Making a felony car stop is one of a police officer’s more dangerous jobs,but it also earned one of the 67th Precinct’s finest his first “Cop of the Month” certificate.
The incident unfolded last month when police officer William Dooley was patrolling the streets of East Flatbush and heard two gunshots fired at 1370 Ralph Avenue and Clarendon Road.
Dooley, who works the 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift, canvassed the area and then saw the white SUV around the corner, which witnesses described as the vehicle from which the shots were fired.
The SUV took off with Dooley giving chase in his unmarked car.
After several blocks, he made the stop and his anti-crime sergeant and him approached the car. Five men were in the vehicle.
“Absolutely my heart was racing,” Dooley recalled. “But you fall back on your training at the academy and advice you get from senior members on the job.”
After ordering the perpetrators from the car, two put up a struggle, but Dooley quickly overpowered and slapped the handcuffs on them.
He then found a .38-calibre black-on-black handgun on the floor of the car. Except for the two spent casings, it was loaded and all five were arrested.
Further investigation revealed the gun was stolen, cops said.
Dooley, a four-year veteran, said he got into policing because his uncle was a cop and a couple of guys he used to work with were retired from the NYPD.
“They said it was the best job and they pushed me forward into doing it,” he recalled. “I like running around and doing good. It’s a lot of fun and never the same.”
Still, working as a conditions cop who patrols high crime areas has its dangers, and he tells his fiance to be patient with him because there’s only so much he can do.
“To have an arrest like this carries on to the next day,” he said.
