Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hate Speech?

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hate Speech?: Hate Speech? Accused Gunman Made Feelings Known about Cops #NYPD #CopShooting By Dan Gesslein BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 7- Before the bu...

Hate Speech?

Hate Speech?

Accused Gunman Made Feelings Known about Cops

#NYPD #CopShooting

By Dan Gesslein

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 7- Before the bullet left his gun aimed for two police officers, Jason Polanco’s hatred of cops was on display. The Fordham man was arrested for wounding two cops after robbing a bodega.

Polanco’s Facebook page has photos such as two kids painting “F—- the Police” on a fence. Another had stick figures of an officer beating another figure on the ground stating: “Stop police brutality.”

News of Polanco’s views came to light after the arrest of the Fordham man for allegedly shooting two police officers. Monday night’s shooting, coupled with the such posts on social media, has police believing there is a war on cops. 

The shooting, coupled with the anti-cop rhetoric, is eerily similar to the assassination of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot the officers to death as they sat in their squad car in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Later it was revealed that Brinsley had posted messages of hatred toward the police on his social media accounts.

At this time it appears that Polanco allegedly opened fire to escape arrest and not simply target police officers.

Polanco was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, attempted murder, robbery, criminal possession of a weapon and assault. 

His partner, Joshua Kemp of Metropolitan Oval in Parkchester, was charged with robbery, grand larceny, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of stolen property.

Cops say Polanco wounded Kemp when he opened fire on Officers Andrew Dossi and Aliro Pellerano. Investigators were on to Kemp when he went to a Manhattan hospital for treatment after being shot. 

Kemp was on parole for robbery and has a record of 10 arrests was busted for his part in the robbery which led to the double cop shooting.

Investigators said the shooting sprang from a robbery earlier. Members of the Anti-Crime unit responded to the armed robbery of PN Deli in Fordham. Surveillance video of the robbery show one gunman holding the employees on the ground, while his accomplice emptied the cash register.

When police approached Polanco at a Chinese takeout restaurant a short time later, the man is seen on surveillance video opening fire.

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hunt for Cop Shooter

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Hunt for Cop Shooter: Two Police Officers Wounded in Fordham Heights Gun Battle By David Greene BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 6- A day after NYPD po...

Hunt for Cop Shooter

Two Police Officers Wounded in Fordham Heights Gun Battle

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 6- A day after NYPD police officer Wenjian Liu was laid to rest, two anti-crime cops were wounded after they responded to a call of a robbery in progress at a deli in Fordham Heights.

Details were still sketchy, but officials say officers from the 46th Precinct anti-crime unit were in the area when an alert of a robbery in progress was reported at a deli located at East 184 Street and Tiebout Avenue at 10:23 p.m. on January 5.

Officials say a 30-year-old male officer was hit in the lower back and left arm and was reported to be in surgery in the wee hours of January 6. The unidentified officer was listed in critical, but stable condition.

The second wounded officer is a 38-year-old male who was shot in the chest and left arm and remains in stable condition at the same hospital.

Officials say that after the gun battle, one suspect fled in a stolen white Chevy Camaro-- that crashed on Park Avenue. Dozens of uniformed officers were brought in to canvas the area for the suspect.

Police would later recover the .45 caliber handgun tossed in a construction site at Fordham Plaza.

Dozens of officers were brought to the area in vans as they shutdown bus service across Fordham Road and briefly halted train service out of the Fordham Road Metro North Station.

Detectives would discover a second vehicle involved, a Nissan Altima outside of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan and are currently questioning a man being treated for a gun shot wound to the back.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton paid a late-night visit to the officers at the hospital.

Bratton briefed reporters on one officer's condition, saying, "He is currently in the operating room and is listed in critical condition."

By daybreak, police would release a video of the gunman, believed to be still at large. The suspect already in custody had not yet been charged as of Tuesday morning.

One Bronx detective warned, "They'd better turn themselves in because there's not a rock in the world they can hide where we won't find them."

Anyone with any information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): VCU Defeats Fordham in A-10 Conference Opener

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): VCU Defeats Fordham in A-10 Conference Opener: VCU Defeats Fordham in A-10 Conference Opener #Fordham By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 5- The first steps toward March Madness ...

VCU Defeats Fordham in A-10 Conference Opener

VCU Defeats Fordham in A-10 Conference Opener

#Fordham

By Howard Goldin

BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 5- The first steps toward March Madness of 2015 took place on the first weekend of 2015 as the NCAA conferences began their schedules. On Sunday afternoon, the VCU Rams (11-3, 1-0), the pre-season selection of Atlantic-10 coaches and SIDs to finish first in the conference visited the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx to face the team selected to finish last, the Fordham Rams (5-7, 0-1).

The visitors, under the able direction of Shaka Smart, one of the most respected young coaches in college basketball, exhibited why their havoc defense is so feared. VCU forced 14 Fordham turnovers in each half of the game. Fordham’s 28 turnovers exceeded its 20 field goals. Sunday’s contest was the fifth for VCU in which its’ opponents turnovers were equal to or exceeded its field goals. VCU scored 36 points off Fordham’s turnovers, nearly 50 percent of its 75 points, contrasted with Fordham’s 11 scored off VCU’s uncharacteristic 17 turnovers. 

The coaches of both teams spoke of the importance of turnovers in the result. Fordham coach Tom Pecora explained, “28 turnovers, that’s the key. It’s all about ball security.” Smart told reporters, “With some teams, if we apply a lot of pressure, we can get a lot of turnovers.” 

For the fifth straight game, VCU led from start to finish. They scored the first seven points of the contest. Freshman Terry Larrier netted a three at 10:54. In the next minute, 6-3 junior Melvin Johnson followed with two lay-ups. The production of the two Bronx natives gave VCU its first double digit advantage. 

Fordham cut the deficit to single figures in the last five minutes of the half.

Fordham began the second half with a 7-1 scoring run that cut the lead to a single point, 38-37, at 18:35. The short spurt was followed by VCU scoring 14 unanswered points to bring the score to 52-37 six minutes later. The double figure led remained for the final 12 minutes of the game that ended with a VCU victory by a score of 75-58.

Interesting to the nearly full house in the Bronx gym was the fact that two starters on the Virginia university five were natives of the Bronx while not one of the players for Fordham were born in the borough. Melvin Johnson, a junior, has improved his stats each season. Last year, he started 7 of 33 games but averaged double figures in points, 10.4, and was named the Atlantic-10 Sixth Man of the Year. He has started all 14 of the Rams’ games this year and is second in scoring and in minutes played on the team. Johnson scored nine, and had two rebounds, two assists and two steals in 22 minutes against Fordham.

Terry Larrier, a 6-8 freshman, made his first start of the season in his native borough. The most highly rated recruit for VCU since Kendrick in 1991, in 24 minutes on the court on Sunday, scored eight and had one rebound, assist and steal.

Fordham senior Mandell Thomas had a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds in the losing cause. Freshman Eric Paschal led Fordham scoring with 15. Sophomore Jon Severe, after an absence of seven games, scored nine in 20 minutes of action.  The VCU coach spoke of Fordham’s youngsters, “I like Fordham’s young players. They just have to get better.”

The Fordham women, on a three point basket by Danielle Padovano with 1.7 seconds on the clock in overtime, edged the Richmond Spiders, 65-64, in the second game of the home doubleheader for Fordham.

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win

Bronx News (Bxnews.net): Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win: Fordham Ends 2014 with a Win #Fordham #Basketball By Howard Goldin BRONX, NEW YORK, JANUARY 2- The Fordham Rams men’s basketball team (5-6) ...