Off-duty NYPD officer charged with assault, attempted murder for shooting man outside Brooklyn club
An NYPD officer has been charged with shooting a man who made the mistake of trying to calm him down during an argument at a Brooklyn club, prosecutors said Monday.
The police officer was charged with an attempted murder and assault.
Larry Valdemar, 37, was charged with attempted murder and assault for the April 18 incident which left a man outside Chloe’s Restaurant & Lounge at Avenue L and East 94th St. in Canarsie with a bullet wound through his triceps.
According to prosecutors, Valdemar quarreled with a patron inside the club. His 32-year-old victim tried to intervene and calm the situation. However, that only infuriated the officer.
Valdemar then headed outside the club, where he waited for the man to exit. When the victim emerged with friends, Valdemar followed him to the corner of the street and punched him in the face.
The man tried in vain to counter with his own punch, but Valdemar pistol-whipped him in the back of the head with a 9-mm. handgun, according to prosecutors.
“The gun then discharged once, after which the defendant left the scene,” the Brooklyn district attorney’s office said in a press release.
The victim was treated at Brookdale University Hospital for a bullet wound to his arm. It was not immediately clear if Valdemar intended to shoot the victim or if the gun went off accidentally.
Valdemar was suspended without pay following his arrest, a police spokesman said.
“The fact that this defendant is a police officer makes his alleged actions all the more shocking,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino ordered Valdemar held on $35,000 bail at his initial court appearance Monday. He is due back in court July 13.
