WPCNR POLICE GAZETTE. From White Plains Department of Public Safety. January 28, 2008 UPDATED 2:45 P.M. E.S.T.: The White Plains Police have issued a statement, naming 4 Westchester County Police Officers who responded to the incident in which Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley was shot by police Friday afternoon in White Plains, and the statement reveals that video tapes of the incident are being analyzed.

The statement released by the White Plains Department of Public Safety this morning at 9:57 A.M.  comes 12 hours after and confirms in part, a  recorded statement made on News 12 television by an unidentified witness who appeared on camera shown from the neck down that described what he saw (and WPCNR quotes the witness from a recording of that telecast:)

"From what I can see, the police officer from Mount Vernon was under the impression that those officers knew he was a cop, because there was at one point a Westchester (County) cop behind him.  So as he (Ridley) was telling the guy (Jacobs) to "hold it, hold it," he looked up and told the cops, "I have it, I got it, don't worry I got it, and when he looked up and told the cops "I got it, I got it"  for the fourth time that's when the county police officers all shot and he fell to the ground dead. I could see the gunfire coming out of the county police officers' guns, from all the firing I thought, each police officer shot one time." 

 It was not stated by the reporter, whether this witness had already given his impression of the events to the police.

The reporter on this story set up the recorded witness statement, in her on-air report, saying that the unidentified witness said Officer Ridley came out of the County Office Building with a Westchester County cop behind him, and that this policeman was joined by three county police officers from the Department of Social Services "with their guns drawn." She also reported the man originally attacked, the witness said appeared handicapped and was helped by two samaritans. The witness interviewed was reported as having viewed the incident from the window of the Macy's store where he was waiting for a bus.  

White Plains Police would not comment on the details of this News 12 report at the time, but issued a statement this morning, confirming 4 Westchester County officers were involved:

The police statement remarks that Anthony Jacobs, the lone man charged in the incident has also been charged additionally to the Assault 2nd Degree charge  with possession of a weapon . Police note that the man who was the original victim of the assault that began the sequence of events was on his way home from work. The police also invite witnesses of the incident to make themselves know at an operations van at the scene of the shooting.

Here is the official police statement in its entirety:

The City of White Plains Department of Public Safety is conducting a thorough and objective investigation into the incident that occurreed on Friday evening, January 25, 2008 in the area of 85 Court Street White Plains, NY. This investigation is being conducted in conjunction with the Westchester District Attorney's Office. The department is analyzing extensive video of the area and the incident. We are conducting a full ballistic analysis and  reviewing the results of the Medical Examiner's autopsy. To date, we have interviewed in excess of 35 witnesses and will continue to interview all possible witnesses. In this regard, we have placed the department's communications vehicle in the area of 85 Court Street and encourage anyone who witnessed any part of Friday's events to contact us either in person at the site or through telephone #914-422-6200.

Investigation has determined that 4 uniformed Westchester County Police Officers responded to the scene. The Westchester Police Officers at the scene were, in alphabetical order:

Police Officer Jose Calero

Police Officer Christian Gutierrez

Detective Robin Martin

Police Officer Frank Oliveri

The number of shots fired and who fired those shots is under investigation. Medical personnel were summoned immediately and arrived at Ofiicer Ridley's side within minutes. Paramedics determined immediately upon their examination that he was deceased..

Anthony Jacobs will appear Monday morning in White Plains City Court and is currently charged with Assault 2nd degree a D-Felony and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd degree a C- Felony. His photograph is attached to this e-mail. The victim of the initial assault was a resident of the Bronx that was on his way home from work.