The bloody ax that was used in an unprovoked attack on cops on Jamaica Avenue last Thursday.
Photo Courtesy of NYPD
A wild scene broke out last Thursday on Jamaica Avenue when police officers shot and killed a man after he attacked four cops with a hatchet, injuring two of them, including one with a serious head injury.
According to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, the incident occurred around 2 p.m. at the intersection of Jamaica Avenue and 162nd Street. Four uniformed police officers assigned to the 103rd Precinct were on a foot post when they were approached by a freelance photographer who asked them to pose for a picture. As the officers were standing together, a man identified in published reports as Zale Thompson, 32, charged at them with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, Thompson then swung the hatchet at rookie Officer Joseph Meeker, 24, striking his right arm. Thompson, who later was characterized by Bratton as a “self-radicalized” Muslim, continued swinging the hatchet, striking Officer Kenneth Healey, 25, in his head, causing him to fall to the ground.
As Thompson continued his assault, Bratton said, the remaining two cops opened fire, killing him and accidentally shooting a 29-year-old female bystander in her lower back. She was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she is recovering from surgery.
Thompson was pronounced dead at the scene of what Bratton described as a “terrorist act.” Meeker was released from Jamaica Hospital on Friday, where fellow rookie Healey is still recovering.
By Michael V. Cusenza
