Newburgh(Orange)N.Y.Shot fired at Police 12-26-05

[Guest ocff75]

Date: 12-26-05

Time:around 6 p.m

Location: City of Newburgh Lander Street x Liberty Street

Frequency:

Units Operating: Newburgh City Police

Description Of Incident: Shot fired at Police

Writer: ocff75

Bullets miss cops in SUV in Newburgh

By John Doherty

Times Herald-Record

jdoherty@th-record.com

Newburgh - Members of a special anti-crime police detail stumbled into a shooting Monday evening, the third time this year police have escaped injuries as bullets flew.

Officers Steven Bunt, William Lahar and John Buckley, all members of the city's Proactive Arrest Team, were traveling in an unmarked SUV around 6 p.m. Monday on Lander Street. The PAT looks to disrupt street-level drug dealing, prostitution, public drinking and other nuisance crimes.

They spotted a man pointing a handgun at a crowd of people outside 143 Lander St.

"The officers said they were close enough they could have reached out and grabbed the gun," Newburgh police Chief Eric Paolilli said.

Police said Terry Jones, 26, fired several times, both toward the officers and into the knot of people outside the Lander Street home.

No one was hit.

Jones then jumped into a 1997 Plymouth driven by a female later identified as Siobahn Johnson and sped off, police said. He was pulled over at Liberty Street and Second Street moments later and surrendered to police without incident.

Chief Paolilli said investigators do not believe Jones was targeting police when he fired.

"They were driving in a Tahoe with tinted windows," the chief said. "Even though they were in uniform, he had no idea they were cops. We don't think he fired directly at officers."

Police also believe Jones was attempting to shoot another person on the street.

Jones, of Poughkeepsie, faces numerous weapons charges. Johnson was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and obstruction of justice.

The incident was the latest close call for city police. In September, a shotgun was fired at officers on South Street as they investigated complaints about a weapon being fired in an apartment. And in March, police were fired at as they pursued a man suspected of shooting his girlfriend five times.

As in Monday's incident, no officers were hurt in either case.