NEW YORK (AP) - The Latest on the arrest of an NYPD officer in the death of a mentally ill woman (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
New York’s mayor says he anticipates “a fair and thorough prosecution” of a police sergeant charged with murder in the shooting of a mentally ill woman wielding a baseball bat.
Mayor Bill de Blasio (dih’ BLAH’-zee-oh) issued a statement after Sgt. Hugh Barry pleaded not guilty Wednesday. Barry is charged in Deborah Danner’s October death in her Bronx apartment.
De Blasio says he has “full faith” in Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to lead the prosecution. The mayor and DA are Democrats.
Barry was trying to take the 66-year-old Danner to a hospital. Prosecutors say he shot her after she brandished a bat toward him. They say he disregarded his training on handling people with mental illness. He had a stun gun but didn’t use it.
Barry’s lawyer has noted that Danner was armed with the bat.
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6:20 p.m.
A relative of a mentally ill woman fatally shot by a New York police sergeant says a murder charge against the officer is “a start,” but the family is watching to see how the newly unveiled case plays out in court.
Sgt. Hugh Barry pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder and other charges in Deborah Danner’s October death.
Barry was trying to take the 66-year-old Danner to a hospital. Prosecutors say he shot her after she brandished a bat toward him. They say he disregarded his training on handling people with mental illness. He had a stun gun but didn’t use it.
Danner’s cousin Wallace Cooke Jr., says “it was totally unnecessary” for Barry to shoot her. Cooke adds that he is a retired police officer.
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3:20 p.m.
A police sergeant has pleaded not guilty to murder in the shooting of a 66-year-old mentally ill woman in New York City.
Sgt. Hugh Barry was arraigned Wednesday in Deborah Danner’s October death. A spokesman for his union said Barry did not intend to kill anyone.
Police were responding to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed person when Barry encountered Danner in her Bronx apartment.
Authorities said at the time that Danner was threatening the sergeant with a bat when he shot her.
The police commissioner and mayor have condemned the shooting. They say he had a stun gun but didn’t use it.
Barry has been suspended while the criminal case plays out.
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12:30 p.m.
A police sergeant has been arrested on a murder charge in the shooting of a 66-year-old mentally ill woman in New York City.
Police said Wednesday that Sgt. Hugh Barry had been arrested in Deborah Danner’s October death. A spokesman for Barry’s union didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
Police were responding to a 911 call about an emotionally disturbed person when Barry encountered Danner in her Bronx apartment.
Authorities said at the time that Danner was threatening the sergeant with a bat when he shot her.
The police commissioner and mayor have condemned the shooting. They say he had a stun gun but didn’t use it.
Barry has been suspended while the criminal case plays out.
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