Queens man slain by cops had wanted to join NYPD, his heartbroken mother says
Noel Polanco was in National Guard; worked at Ice Lounge in Astoria
National Guardsman Noel Polanco was shot and killed by NYPD officers on the Grand Central Parkway on October 4.
Noel Polanco, a National Guardsman shot to death on the Grand Central Parkway by an NYPD detective, dreamed of becoming a cop.
“That was his dream,” heartbroken Cecilia Reyes said Friday. “All he wanted to do was go to the military, continue his career in the military, and then continue his career as an officer.”
“That’s why he went into the Army,” baby sister Amanda Reyes chimed in. “He always wanted to be a cop.”
QUEENS GRANDMOTHER RECALLS NIGHT OF TERROR
Polanco’s loved ones lamented their loss as the Queens District Attorney opened a formal investigation and prepared to question the shooter, identified by sources as 39-year-old Det. Hassan Hamdy.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WSVYwnx
Det. Hassan Hamdy leaves a home in Centereach, Long Island on Friday.
Internal affairs has already begun questioning the other officers who were with Hamdy when they stopped Polanco’s car, sources said.
“The big question is ‘what happened when the detective approached the car?’” a source said. “Why did he shoot?”
Polanco’s sister said her brother enlisted six months ago and “there wasn’t a bad bone in his body.”
“He was my oldest brother,” the 15-year-old said. “He always had time to sit with me and talk it through.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WSFs2Hw
Police investigate the scene on Grand Central Parkway at 94th St. on October 4 after Noel Polanco was fatally shot.
Polanco was her rock when her father committed suicide three months ago, she said.
“It’s hard,” Amanda Reyes said. “I lost everything now. My father and now my brother ... I lost my world.”
Polanco’s mom is now consulting a lawyer and planning a benefit for her slain son Sunday at the Ice Lounge in Astoria, the Queens nightspot where he worked.
“It hurts. He was just innocent,” the grieving sister said. “We just want justice.”
Polanco’s National Guard unit up in Kingston is also planning a vigil for their “company clown.”
“I love the guy. We all did,” said Specialist Radoslaw Mosiej, “He was more than a brother.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WRytIv3
Cecilia Reyes talks about her son, 22-year-old National Guardsman Noel Polanco 22, who was shot and killed early Thursday.
Polanco was also an aspiring tattoo artist.
"I guess I was one of his guinea pigs,” said Mosiej, who sports a Polanco original on his chest. “It didn't come out perfect but .. it's a heart on my chest with my wife and son's names.”
Polanco, 22, of LeFrak City, was killed early Thursday after he was pulled over by cops on the parkway near LaGuardia Airport. He had no police record and was driving co-worker Diane DeFerrari and an off-duty NYPD officer, Vanessa Rodriguez, home at the time.
Hamdy, a 14-year veteran of the force, had never before fired his Glock pistol in the line of duty.
Police contend Polanco was driving erratically and refused to stop when two unmarked Emergency Service Unit vehicles began chasing him.
They said once officers pulled Polanco over and approached his Honda Fit, they told everybody to put up their hands. They said Hamdy was on the passenger side and shot through an open window.
DeFerrari told The News that cops killed her pal in an act of “pure road rage” because he cut them off in traffic.
“Noel didn’t have a chance to put his hands up,” said DeFerrari, a mother of three. “They screamed, ‘Put your hands up!’ and shot at the same time.”
Michael Paladino of the Detectives' Endowment Association dismissed DeFerrari’s account as “absurd.”
“No cop would shoot a person whose both hands are on the steering wheel,” he said. “Who's she kidding?"
A 4-volt Ryobi power drill was found in the car, but no weapons.
Polanco’s mom said her son used the drill at the local Honda dealership where he also worked.
“What’s so bad about a drill?” Polanco’s mom asked. “What could he have done with a drill, honestly?”
Police say Polanco and Rodriguez had been drinking cognac before the 5:20 a.m. shooting.
DeFerrari, 36, insisted she was sober because she’s watching her step after two drunken-driving arrests. She said she was sitting in the passenger seat beside Polanco and had no problem identifying Hamdy as the shooter.
Rodriguez, 29, was in the back seat and police said she was awakened by the gunshots. But sources said Rodriguez was waving her police ID out the window just before the shooting.
Rodriguez has a checkered history with the NYPD, court records show. She was stripped of her gun and badge after she was busted for shoplifting a sweater from a Queens H&M store in June.
With Kerry Burke and Rocco Parascandola
Noel Polanco was in National Guard; worked at Ice Lounge in Astoria
National Guardsman Noel Polanco was shot and killed by NYPD officers on the Grand Central Parkway on October 4.
Noel Polanco, a National Guardsman shot to death on the Grand Central Parkway by an NYPD detective, dreamed of becoming a cop.
“That was his dream,” heartbroken Cecilia Reyes said Friday. “All he wanted to do was go to the military, continue his career in the military, and then continue his career as an officer.”
“That’s why he went into the Army,” baby sister Amanda Reyes chimed in. “He always wanted to be a cop.”
QUEENS GRANDMOTHER RECALLS NIGHT OF TERROR
Polanco’s loved ones lamented their loss as the Queens District Attorney opened a formal investigation and prepared to question the shooter, identified by sources as 39-year-old Det. Hassan Hamdy.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WSVYwnx
Det. Hassan Hamdy leaves a home in Centereach, Long Island on Friday.
Internal affairs has already begun questioning the other officers who were with Hamdy when they stopped Polanco’s car, sources said.
“The big question is ‘what happened when the detective approached the car?’” a source said. “Why did he shoot?”
Polanco’s sister said her brother enlisted six months ago and “there wasn’t a bad bone in his body.”
“He was my oldest brother,” the 15-year-old said. “He always had time to sit with me and talk it through.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WSFs2Hw
Police investigate the scene on Grand Central Parkway at 94th St. on October 4 after Noel Polanco was fatally shot.
Polanco was her rock when her father committed suicide three months ago, she said.
“It’s hard,” Amanda Reyes said. “I lost everything now. My father and now my brother ... I lost my world.”
Polanco’s mom is now consulting a lawyer and planning a benefit for her slain son Sunday at the Ice Lounge in Astoria, the Queens nightspot where he worked.
“It hurts. He was just innocent,” the grieving sister said. “We just want justice.”
Polanco’s National Guard unit up in Kingston is also planning a vigil for their “company clown.”
“I love the guy. We all did,” said Specialist Radoslaw Mosiej, “He was more than a brother.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WRytIv3
Cecilia Reyes talks about her son, 22-year-old National Guardsman Noel Polanco 22, who was shot and killed early Thursday.
Polanco was also an aspiring tattoo artist.
"I guess I was one of his guinea pigs,” said Mosiej, who sports a Polanco original on his chest. “It didn't come out perfect but .. it's a heart on my chest with my wife and son's names.”
Polanco, 22, of LeFrak City, was killed early Thursday after he was pulled over by cops on the parkway near LaGuardia Airport. He had no police record and was driving co-worker Diane DeFerrari and an off-duty NYPD officer, Vanessa Rodriguez, home at the time.
Hamdy, a 14-year veteran of the force, had never before fired his Glock pistol in the line of duty.
Police contend Polanco was driving erratically and refused to stop when two unmarked Emergency Service Unit vehicles began chasing him.
They said once officers pulled Polanco over and approached his Honda Fit, they told everybody to put up their hands. They said Hamdy was on the passenger side and shot through an open window.
DeFerrari told The News that cops killed her pal in an act of “pure road rage” because he cut them off in traffic.
“Noel didn’t have a chance to put his hands up,” said DeFerrari, a mother of three. “They screamed, ‘Put your hands up!’ and shot at the same time.”
Michael Paladino of the Detectives' Endowment Association dismissed DeFerrari’s account as “absurd.”
“No cop would shoot a person whose both hands are on the steering wheel,” he said. “Who's she kidding?"
A 4-volt Ryobi power drill was found in the car, but no weapons.
Polanco’s mom said her son used the drill at the local Honda dealership where he also worked.
“What’s so bad about a drill?” Polanco’s mom asked. “What could he have done with a drill, honestly?”
Police say Polanco and Rodriguez had been drinking cognac before the 5:20 a.m. shooting.
DeFerrari, 36, insisted she was sober because she’s watching her step after two drunken-driving arrests. She said she was sitting in the passenger seat beside Polanco and had no problem identifying Hamdy as the shooter.
Rodriguez, 29, was in the back seat and police said she was awakened by the gunshots. But sources said Rodriguez was waving her police ID out the window just before the shooting.
Rodriguez has a checkered history with the NYPD, court records show. She was stripped of her gun and badge after she was busted for shoplifting a sweater from a Queens H&M store in June.
With Kerry Burke and Rocco Parascandola
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ted-join-nypd-article-1.1175758#ixzz28WRjrJsz
