Suspect busted in the Bronx for shooting rookie cop after dispute over a bus seat in Queens: NYPD

By Rocco Parascandola, Thomas Tracy, Andrew Califf, Larry McShane, Police Bureau Chief and New York Daily News on Apr 07, 2023 at 10:55 am.

The suspect busted for shooting a rookie cop in a bizarre argument over a Queens bus seat sparked the violent confrontation by attacking a fellow passenger moments after climbing aboard, police said Friday.

Devin Spraggins was charged with the attempted murder of NYPD Officer Brett Boller and criminal possession of a weapon after the unprovoked dispute spilled from the bus onto the street.

Spraggins, 22, was in custody within 30 hours of the shooting after police tracked him to Bronx residence through social media and video, said NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig at a news conference.

“He did not evade our reach,” said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. The suspect was also charged with obstruction of governmental administration.

The suspect, when led by police from the 103rd Precinct after his arrest, extended his middle finger.

The residence where Spraggins was taken into custody was cordoned off Friday as an active crime scene, with investigators seen removing large paper bags from the home. A man standing outside declined to speak when asked if he knew the suspect.

“I’m not going to tell you a single f—ing thing, respectfully,” said the man.

Spraggins boarded the bus at 160th St. and Parsons Blvd this past Wednesday and immediately approached a random rider as they drove along a Queens street, said Essig.

“Why are you looking at me? You’re in my seat!” said Spraggins, escalating the fight from there.

The bus driver then flagged down Boller, who boarded the bus.

The suspect pushed Boller aside and bolted, said Essig, who had known the young officer’s NYPD father, Inspector Don Boller, for 15 years.

The younger Boller, 22, chased the suspect down, with Spraggins pulling a gun to shoot the officer in the leg during the ensuing scuffle, said police.

Prosecutors say Spraggins claimed he ran from the bus because he had a gun in his waistband, and that the gun “just went off” when the cop caught up to him.

But prosecutors say Spraggins removed the gun from his waistband before firing, and that even after Boller had collapsed to the ground, Spraggins kept the gun trained on him.

Spraggins even took a “shooter stance” as he aimed the gun, prosecutors say.

Then suspect bolted from the scene on foot and changed his clothes before calling for a Lyft taxi and making his way to the Bronx, police said.

Sometime after the shooting, authorities say, Spraggins cut his hair.

A source told the News that Don Boller was with police when Spraggins was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force in an apartment building on Bronx Blvd. His son was on the job for just three months before the shooting, said Essig.

The wounded officer’s father “was not surprised by the swiftness of the arrest,” said Essig. “Now we turn our attention to the speedy recovery of his son.”

Boller was recovering Friday at Jamaica Hospital. He underwent surgery on Wednesday night, and is expected to need at least one more operation, said the Queens DA.

Spraggins’ bullet shattered Boller’s hop and pierced his femoral artery, say court papers.

Spraggins, described as a transient with ties to Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Georgia, was arrested Thursday evening without incident at a Bronx residence, said Essig. The suspect was wearing a black mask, black jacket and orange sweatshirt during the attack, all quickly dumped inside a nearby parking garage.

He switched to a white T-shirt and black pants before going on the lam, police said.

A 9-mm gun was recovered in the Bronx, with ballistic tests to determine if it was the weapon used in the shooting.

At arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on Friday, Spraggins was ordered held without bail.

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-nypd-rookie-officer-shot-20230407-3xy6ytlgj5hp3aevh35hrdbdza-story.html