Drunken Narcotics Officer Shoots Two Drinking Buddies Over A Struggle With His Gun
An inebriated narcotics agent in New York shot two drinking buddies with his .40-caliber Glock, according to the police. Blood-curdling screams could be heard in the upper west side just after 9:00 p.m. when Victor Zambrano Jr., 49, shot a 31-year-old woman in the left foot and the woman’s 42-year-old boyfriend in the right calf during an argument over his weapon, neighbors and police sources said.
A NYPD plainclothes sergeant (left) knocked the gun out of the hand of a state narcotics agent, who was then arrested.
[su_center_ad]The Daily News reports, “The three pals had been drinking together and were walking on Amsterdam Ave. near W. 82nd St. when the woman asked the New York State Bureau of Narcotics enforcement agent for his pistol, a police source said.”
Zambrano handed his firearm over, but then quickly demanded it back. When the argument over the weapon became heated, the agent fired a round. The bullet ricocheted off the concrete and hit both the woman and her boyfriend.
“We do not know if he was shooting at them or just shooting,” a police source said. “Everyone involved is really drunk.”
People eating out along Amsterdam Ave.’s restaurants ducked for cover, as the narcotics investigator bolted.
The boyfriend chased him and Zambrano allegedly turned to shoot but misfired — causing a live round to fall to the ground as he ran toward W. 83rd St., stunned witnesses said, according to the paper.
“(The shooter) was f—– up … he was drunk,” one witness said.
Plainclothes cops surrounded Zambrano but the narcotics agent refused to give up his gun which he was holding under a Yankees jacket.
A cop knocked the gun out of Zambrano’s hand and tackled him, witnesses said.
“They were shouting ‘Drop the gun! Drop the gun!’ but he wouldn’t,” one witness said. “A cop knocked it down and wrestled him the ground.”
“He got drunk and did something stupid,” the agent’s son Vic Zambrano III, 22, said while entering the station house. “It just escalated. It could easily have been prevented.”
Zambrano was taken to the precinct. Charges were pending early Saturday.
H/T: The incomparable @CarlaAkins with thanks. [su_csky_ad]
Image: Daily News
uzza September 14th, 2014 at 9:34 am
“A cop knocked the gun out of Zambrano’s hand and tackled him,” instead of shooting him as would be done to a civilian.
jasperjava September 14th, 2014 at 11:34 am
Depends on the civilian’s skin color.
M D Reese September 14th, 2014 at 12:26 pm
True–if you’re white and suffering from a physical or mental illness, they just grind your face into the pavement.
M D Reese September 14th, 2014 at 12:25 pm
That’s how I read it, too.
whatthe46 September 14th, 2014 at 6:23 pm
my first thought.
edmeyer_able September 14th, 2014 at 10:02 am
“He got drunk and did something stupid,” the agent’s son Vic Zambrano III, 22, said while entering the station house. “It just escalated. It could easily have been prevented.”
WTF Is this meant to excuse him, what about the next time he just does something stupid.
When people choose to put these idiots back on duty they should be held accountable for any ” something stupid” mistakes they make in the future.
fancypants September 14th, 2014 at 9:55 pm
nyc at one time allows police to drink on duty. I don’t know if the rule still exists ?
dave-dr-gonzo September 14th, 2014 at 10:25 am
He should be fired. Period.
This happened just outside one of my favorite Amsterdam Avenue restaurants. Evidently, the perp lives across the street. There goes the neighborhood…
bhil September 14th, 2014 at 11:12 am
So there we have it booze and firearms and stupidity it works so well together sort of like chocolate and peanut butter.
M D Reese September 14th, 2014 at 12:24 pm
It is a great combo, isn’t it? I know that I sure enjoy being around boozeheads with guns…
Guy Lauten September 14th, 2014 at 11:13 am
Another “good guy” with a gun.
M D Reese September 14th, 2014 at 12:23 pm
“He got drunk and did something stupid”. Yes–which is why “guns everywhere, all the time!” is not a good idea, no matter what the idiots from the NRA say.
juicyfruityyy September 14th, 2014 at 1:08 pm
So, he will be released. Maybe, go to some rehab.
tiredoftea September 14th, 2014 at 4:39 pm
Wow, just wow! An irresponsible and drunk New York State Bureau of Narcotics enforcement agent just gives another drunk his gun! What could possibly be going through his addled little brain? There are no “good guys with guns”, sorry NRA.
fancypants September 14th, 2014 at 5:49 pm
kind of reminds me of…
http://youtu.be/sx-55eY-RPU?t=1m11s
LightningJoe September 16th, 2014 at 6:42 pm
I want to know why the Cops didn’t just open up on him, once he refused to hand over his gun.
THAT is the behavior that “Investigations” continually excuse, when they do it to unarmed black kids…
Are we now being asked to believe that the Cops considered themselves “safe?”