Fed Agent Killed in NY Pharmacy Heist Likely Shot by Friendly Fire From Retired Cop
- Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:00pm by
Christopher Santarelli
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(AP) — An off-duty federal agent who died after intervening in a pharmacy robbery on New York’s Long Island was likely shot by a retired police officer who responded, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.
ATF agent John Capano, 51, was shot Saturday in Seaford while struggling with a suspect during a robbery for prescription painkillers and cash at a small family pharmacy. Capano was a customer and followed the suspect, who was later shot and killed, as he tried to flee.
A retired Nassau County police lieutenant who runs a nearby deli and an off-duty New York City police officer in the deli ran to the scene and saw the skirmish between Capano and the suspect, later identified as 43-year-old James McGoey of Hampton Bays.
The law enforcement official said it is believed the retired Nassau officer shot Capano during the skirmish. The NYPD officer shot the suspect.
Deceased Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Special Agent John Capano
The official is familiar with the investigation but not authorized to release information and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. A Nassau County police spokesman declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
The shooting appears to be the second so-called friendly fire in Nassau County last year. In March, a Nassau police officer in plainclothes was shot to death by a transit authority officer in Massapequa Park.
The shooting was also the second deadly holdup in a pharmacy on Long Island in 2011; in June, a gunman opened fire in a drugstore about 30 miles east in Medford, killing two employees and two customers before fleeing with a backpack filled with painkillers.
McGoey had four robbery convictions on his record, three of which were pharmacy holdups, between 1990 and 2000, court records indicate. He was released from prison in August 2010.
Armed robberies at pharmacies in the U.S. rose 81 percent between 2006 and 2010, from 380 to 686, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Capano, a 23-year veteran of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, taught U.S. military and local forces in Afghanistan and Iraq how to investigate explosions, said Rory O’Connor, an agent at the ATF’s New York office. He lived in nearby Massapequa and was married with two children.
His funeral is Friday.
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hoopojoop
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 10:23amIf the retired cop had shot and killed an innocent citizen it could have all been covered up quietly. But no, he had to shoot one of the Imperial Federal Government’s storm troopers and now there must be an investigation.
Report Post »rlimike
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 6:06amA retired cop (NYC) … say no more .We get a lot of these retired nyc cops down here in Fl. ,they think they know it all & are legends in their own mind.All they do is brag about how great it was to be (on the job) a cop & how everything should be run here like it was when they were on the job back in nyc.
Report Post »If it was sooo good why not retire & stay where you are ,we already have our alocation of home grown know it all doughnut eaters.
szretired
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 8:56amEXCELLENT comment!!
Report Post »Topnife
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:25pmNew York State has extremely restrictive laws limiting both ownership and carrying of handguns, which means that almost anyone using a gun at the scene of a crime will almost certainly be the criminal. It’s likely that New York cops have internalized this wisdom, to the point that they may assume anyone with a gun is a criminal.
Report Post »Not only do gun-control laws fail to limit crime, they may actually increase the risk to a lawful citizen or unidentified law enforcement agent, who handles a gun at a crime scene.
Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:41pmIn recalling the original story about this incident, I notice how few former cops are now commenting about how dangerous their jobs were and how we simple civilians should not be allowed to carry. I‘m really surprised there are none here defending this retired cop and his ’right‘ to carry as being a retired ’Only One’ and how the off-duty agent shouldn’t have been carrying or should have identified himself more clearly.
Report Post »Actually- this whole incident is a bundh of BS brought about by all the unConstitutional gun laws in these United States.
Not_A_Useful_Idiot
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 7:11pmThis is so true. There have been many cases of officers shooting other officers just because a gun is out. One such incident comes to mind of a rookie officer attempting to detain a homeless vagrant out side of a county court house here in NY. County police saw a gun, came to the conclusion that it was unlicensed and the black individual carrying it, was a criminal. He was shot and killed without so much as a warning. In my past 30 years of shooting experience, IDPA, 3 gun and as former well weapons, CQB trained Marine, it is my opinion that most officers have no business carrying a gun.
Report Post »FaithfulFriend
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:01pmI wasn’t there and have no clue as to what really happened.
But from what I read, I guess I know this… “in June, a gunman opened fire in a drugstore about 30 miles east in Medford, killing two employees and two customers before fleeing with a backpack filled with painkillers.”
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 8:17pmWhen you think about this more the retired Nassau County police lieutenant should forfit 80% of his retirement pay to the two kids of the ATF agents until they are 26 years old. He should also be charged for his crime, as he had no offical reason to be there.
Report Post »snakeyes4liberty
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 5:47pmWHY bother shooting anyone involved with a robbery of any kind???!!! Unless someone was killed during the robbery process, I think gunshots would be called excessive force. Sounds like the ex and current law enforcement in NY are a little trigger happy & kinda stupid. A senseless death that makes one think twice about playing hero over a bag of pills.
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:46pmExactly, Snake- unless the perp started shooting, everyone should have kept playing pocket pool and just made sure they got excellent descriptions and all information they could.
Report Post »This is just another case of Only Ones believing in their omnipotence.
THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 5:17pmHow many people have died because of the ATF’s gun smuggling operation to cartels? Hundreds? karma sucks…
Report Post »CharlieSheen
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 5:10pmI’m not generally for prohibition, but i just don’t see how people carrying around handguns trying to be heroic in chaotic situations is good for society.
Report Post »No, I don’t want to take away your hunting rifles… but we have a serious handgun problem in this country. It’s time to re-evaluate.
gmoneytx
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 6:07pmI beg your pardon, we do not have a “handgun” problem in this country, we have a stupidity problem in this country…the “handgun” can’t do anything accept be a paperweight unless a moron without any experience or lack of judgement picks it up and pulls the trigger!
Report Post »Duddio
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 10:48pmWhat the hell do hunting rifles have to do with anything???
We don’t have a “handgun” problem in this country, we have a “people” problem. Guns do what people make them do. Get your facts straight, and figure out that cars kill thousands more people every year than guns do. Do we have a “car” problem? Or maybe a texting, drinking, drugs, & road-rage problem? See, it all boils down to people, Charlie.
Get a clue!
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:22pmAh, Charlie Charlie Charlie- we don’t have a handgun problem in this country, we have a lib commie democrat problem in this country. Oh- and a Hollywierd inhabitant problem. Show me what part of the Second Amendment is about hunting guns.
Report Post »But, you are right: it’s time to reevaluate the problem- and get rid of the anti-gun, anti-self defense, anti-Constitution, Hollyweird sucking morons who think people desireing to protect themselves don’t have that right.
Oh, wait- CharlieSheen… I might‘a known if I’d paid closer attention- you’re that drug sucking idiot from Hollyweird. My oops. Well, go back to your mommies basement and suck up some more coke. Maybe you’ll wake up an adult.
Harvey1
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 9:37pmThis would take a constitutional Admendment. The constitution does not limit the type arm that we have the “right” to keep and bear. I have carried a weapon since the riots of 1968 and have ever shot anyone. You keep you thoughts and I will keep my weapons and my safe living. If you dia 911 it takes the lawenforcent official minutes to arrive to defend you. It only takes less than a Second d for my bullet to stop an attacker. You wait for the cops and I will defend myself. The courts hav ruled that the cops do not have a duty to protect you.
Report Post »RightThinking1
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 5:10pmYeah, I was afraid of this. A retired cop should know better, much better. I grieve for the agent’s family, and pray for the retired cop and his family also.
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:50pmHe wasn’t a retired cop, he is an Only One- they are omnipotent and can do anything they want. Need proof? Just ask one. Blaze runs articles about them all the time.
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 5:00pm.
Report Post »Not surprised………..
Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:55pmThe only surprising thing about this is the absense of retired Only Ones posting here defending the retired Only One who performed a perfectly admirable feat of defending the perp’s right to… oh, wait- my oops: the perp doesn’t have any rights, probably falling under the Turd’s NDAA guidelines.
Report Post »Oh, well, they should at least be here defending their statements from the original posting of this article.
No Quarter
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 4:58pmHmmmm something does not sound right in this story.
and what about this part
“McGoey had four robbery convictions on his record, three of which were pharmacy holdups, between 1990 and 2000, court records indicate. He was released from prison in August 2010″.
after the second, perhaps the chair would be a smart move.
Report Post »triumphguy
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:52pmInnocent people are not being shot by conceal carry holders, at least not here in Minnesota. People are generally safer when the bad guys know you might also have a gun. No, I don’t carry, but I reserve the right if I feel the need.
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 6:11pmYou are absolutely correct, if you look at the statistics, how many CHL holders are involved in shootings versus a BG…ignorance has been the problem with our society since day one!
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 12:04amI live in MN and carry even when I don‘t ’feel’ a need for it, since my ‘feeling’ doesn‘t fit into any perp’s ‘feelings’.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:13pmCivilian Clothes & a Gun… means you are a Target!
Maybe, just maybe… if you have too many Police & Agencies… they will start shooting each other!
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:08pmNew York/East coast. No wonder this happened, cop must have thought he was taking down a mobster.
Report Post »Sleazy Hippo
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:08pmIf everyone had concealed carry this never would have happened. When the bonehead cop filled his hand, he would have immediately been put down, and those folks would have been taken out by others, and so forth. The ripple effect of bodies falling would look just like Juarez in July.
TEA
Report Post »Clive
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:20pmI’m a card carrying NRA member sleazy hippo (i do like your name), but if anything, this story is an argument against concealed carry. a retired cop, with a gun, got confused, or missed, and shot and killed a federal agent. if we let every dumb member of society walk around with a loaded gun, we would see innocent people shot, all the time.
btw, the ex-cop who killed the federal agent… i see manslaughter charges and a jail cell in his future.
Report Post »Sleazy Hippo
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:32pmI am an NRA guy, but do not carry the card very often, I have a pile of them.
It is easy to defend oneself, and explain the basis. It is much harder to play the hero…as the retired cop well understands. When someone takes it upon themselves to “intervene” in a random situation they risk being responsible for the consequences.
It takes more than a permit to prepare one to be a safe carrier.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 4:33pmI am for Open Carry… I want to know who has one!
Report Post »Sheepdog911
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 4:54pmThe problem here is that in NY, average citizens can’t carry, therefore, this idiot figured that it was open season. If everyone were armed, we’d all be very civil, and wouldn’t have to tolerate heavy-handed cops. We, the armed populace, would have settled most dangerous problems long before the cops arrived. With any luck, this incompetent fool will go to jail over this.
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 12:01amGawd, Sleezy- you really do fit your name.
Report Post »Just because you have an NRA card doesn’t mean you know anything- maybe you should start carrying a CCW card along with the requisite armament.
After you learn to use them.
macpappy
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:02pmDig a little deeper, and I fear there is more to tell. I still can’t get over the fact that 3 retired, or off duty cops respond to a 911 call before uniformed cops do.
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 11:29pmWhen seconds count, the cops are only minutes away… probably at a doughnut shop.
Report Post »GUNNSUP
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:43pmHow about a little background on the trigger happy bonehead cop that shot this agent if in fact that is what happened. Very unfortunate situation. Prayers to the agent & his family. These are the type people sworn to protect us? No Thanks……I hope they run this idiot through the ringer.
Report Post »apollo18
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 7:00pmYou “…. hope they run him through the ringer.”
Nice. I’m impressed. There should be a 7-day waiting period on your keyboard.
Report Post »Missouri Mule
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:40pmI send my deepest sympathies to the agent’s family. That said, being a professional gun grabber does not make you bullet proof or trained to engage in a gun fight. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:39pmThis can’t be true a cop would never make a mistake and kill someone. Oh, he is a retired police officer maybe he should be charged for shooting the ATF agent. He interfered with the ATF agent doing his job. Just a shoot happy retired police officer.
Report Post »larrylarrylarry
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:26pmA lesson to be learned, in a skirmish always aim for the black guy not the white guy.
Report Post »scheduler
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:30pmDoes this happen often?
http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos
Report Post »Sean In LI
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:12pmJust as an FYI, the robber was a middle-aged white man.
Report Post »Dirty Harry
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:10pmSheesh! As a CHL holder, it‘s getting where I’m just as worried about being shot by a bonehead cop as I am being shot by the bad guy.
Putting on your thinking caps, coppers! Not everyone carrying a gun is the bad guy.
Report Post »Latter-Day-Soldier
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:54pmIt’s gotta make you wonder just how these officers are trained.
Report Post »While in Iraq, our R.O.E.s stated that if we saw a guy walking around with an AK-47, we could only observe and not shoot unless he pointed the weapon directly at us or started firing at civilians. The ONLY individuals that could be shot on site were guys toting R.P.G.s
Marineraider
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 9:47pmLatter Day, this is so true. The ROE for police officers and federal agents must be much more liberal. I have posted about this before. They do not have to answer to NATO or the UN or the people they are “Protecting”
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 7:20amRight, Harry- the only ones who should be carrying are the Only Ones- that way they can eliminate each other.
Report Post »We should be so lucky.
Wait- we just were- this article is about an Only One shooting an Only One… wow, a win for the good guys.
sWampy
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 2:06pmI hope they don’t use these accidents to overturn all the carry laws, I’m scared that is why there has been such soft opposition to concealed carry laws.
Report Post »Sean In LI
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:15pmI live in the next town over. You can’t even buy a handgun without going through months and months of administrative hoops around here. So there’s no concealed carry here. Hell, the only people around here with handguns are cops and criminals.
Report Post »AJAYW
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 3:25pm@Sean In LI
How does a retired cop have rights to carry and you don’t? Hes retired and not a member of any olice force and should not have anymore rights than anyone else.
Report Post »gmoneytx
Posted on January 3, 2012 at 6:17pmSEAN IN LI, that’s ironic, cops and criminals have the guns…and that makes you guys safer how?
Report Post »Wolf
Posted on January 4, 2012 at 12:11amGee, Swampy- there was no ‘carry law’ that was disobeyed here: the retired Only One is allowed to carry- by law he has to, the SCOTUS says so.
Report Post »As for Li- the only reason this Only One is allowed to carry is because the slave citizens of those states haven’t strung up a few of the opponents of CCW to show how serious they are about defending their Constitutional rights to self preservation.