Police Officer Fatally Shot

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

A 35-year-old police officer was fatally shot yesterday while pursuing a man who ran a red light in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, police said.


Allan Cameron, 27, was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and criminal possession of a weapon, police said. Mr. Cameron was also charged with attempted murder, robbery, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon in the November 19 shooting of Officer Wiener Philippe.


At about 2:50 a.m., Officer Dillon Stewart and his partner, Officer Paul Lipka, saw Mr. Cameron speed through a red light at the intersection of Church and Flatbush avenues, authorities said. Stewart and Officer Lipka, uniformed officers from the 70th Precinct, turned on the lights and sirens on their unmarked police car, made a U-turn, and drove after the man.


During the pursuit, the officers pulled up to the right side of Mr. Cameron’s vehicle. The suspect allegedly pointed his gun through his open passenger window at Stewart, who was in the driver’s seat, and fired at least five shots, with one striking Stewart in the chest, police said.


Stewart was wearing a bulletproof vest, but the bullet entered his left armpit in a spot the vest does not cover. Police officials speculated he may have raised his arm to protect himself.


The bullet “actually went between the two panels in the vest,” the police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, said.


After firing at the officers, the alleged gunman then led them — with Stewart still at the wheel — on another pursuit to an underground garage at 100 E. 21st St., near the suspect’s home. The suspect drove into the garage, with an automatic metal roll-down gate closing behind him. Officer Lipka, and another officer who responded to the call, shot three times. It was not clear what the suspect’s connection was to the garage. Police suspect the gunman escaped the garage on foot via a window. The suspect was captured at 8:30 a.m. in his girlfriend’s home on Ocean Avenue, two blocks from the scene of the shooting, police said.


The bullet pierced Stewart’s left ventricle, Mayor Bloomberg said, and the officer died at 8:40 a.m. at Kings County Hospital.


Investigators were led to the suspect by paperwork inside the suspect’s vehicle — which police said had stolen New Jersey license plates — documenting the sale of the vehicle to the suspect.


A 9 mm handgun was recovered behind a building on Ocean Avenue, near where the shooting took place, and police believe it may have been the weapon used to shoot Stewart. As of early yesterday evening, the suspect had not yet been charged.


Mr. Cameron has a criminal record dating back to at least 2003. In December 2003, he received three years’ probation and a $500 fine after initially being charged with reckless endangerment, driving while his license was under suspension or revocation, and various traffic infractions including speeding, police said.


In April of this year, Mr. Cameron was arrested for criminal trespass. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was sentenced three months later to three days of community service and a $500 fine, police said.


Yesterday’s fatality marks the first police officer shot and killed in the line of duty this year, according to police. Seven other officers have been shot while working this year. The last police shooting fatality was in September 2004 when Detectives Robert Parker, 43, and Patrick Rafferty, 39, were shot in East Flatbush while trying to arrest a man on charges of domestic violence. In 2004 there were five officers shot in the line of duty, two of whom died, police said.


Perhaps the most high-profile police shooting in recent history was that of Detectives Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin in 2003. The detectives were gunned down in Staten Island during an undercover gun-trafficking investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. attorney’s office. Should Ronell Wilson be convicted when the case goes to trial next year, he faces the death penalty.


Yesterday’s shooting is not likely to reach the federal level because it appears to be a simple shooting rather than a more intricately involved crime with federal implications.


Stewart’s death was not the result of any failure of his DHB Industries Point Blank protective vest, police said.


A spokesman for DHB Industries, Bruce Rubin, said the industry is always looking for ways to increase the protection the vests can provide; however, “it’s impossible to provide head to foot 360 protection,” he said. “They won’t be able to move.” The vest covers the entire chest and back areas; it is designed to provide the maximum amount of protection to the vital organs, he noted.


The New York Police Department has required its officers to wear bulletproof vests since 1988. Over the past 17 years the vests have been credited with saving 58 officers’ lives, police said.


Different vests provide varying levels of protection. The vest used by the police officer is a “relatively lightweight vest to protect him against” a handgun, said the chairman of the Cavalry Security Group/U.S. Cavalry, Patrick Garvey. Mr. Garvey said such vests need to be comfortable and wearable day-in and day-out. The vests used by the Police Department’s Emergency Service Unit or the military, on the other hand, are much heavier, Mr. Garvey said.


Regardless of the heft of the vest, Mr. Garvey said, “none of these vests would be designed to protect you against a shot in the armpit.”


A spokesman for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Albert O’Leary, said the association would not comment on the specifics of the case, including that of the vest, “out of respect for the family.”


The president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, Patrick Lynch, released a statement about Stewart’s death: “To call the murder of police Officer Dillon Stewart a tragic loss does not go nearly far enough. There are no words to express the depth of sorrow we feel for the family, friends, and colleagues of this courageous police officer. Police Officer Stewart was a credit to his family, a credit to his shield, and a credit to the city he served.”


Dr. Robert Kurtz of Kings County Hospital, who cared for Stewart, said that had the officer been wounded by a fist rather than gunfire, he would still be alive. He called for the elimination of the “sea of guns,” saying the country and the city are “awash with guns.”


The New York Sun

© 2025 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use