NYPD officer arrested for attempted murder in off-duty shooting in the Bronx
A New York City police officer is facing multiple charges, including attempted murder, in connection to an off-duty shooting in the Bronx back in March.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office said Jonathan Baez, 44, shot a man in head as he was investigating the theft of his own car.
According to the DA's office, Baez's Honda CRV was stolen from outside his apartment building on March 14, and surveillance video showed the suspects in a white Hyundai Genesis.
Over the next two days, Baez allegedly conducted over 200 unauthorized searches of NYPD databases to try to locate his vehicle and the Hyundai Genesis.
The DA's office said on March 16, Baez approached a man on West 231st Street in Kingsbridge, pointed a gun at him, ordered him to the ground, and straddled him while pointing his gun at the man's back.
Baez then allegedly fired two shots into a white Hyundai Genesis parked nearby, striking a passenger in the head.
According to the DA's office, the victim, a 30-year-old man, suffered "a life-altering injury" and remains in the hospital on a ventilator nearly three months after the shooting.
Baez was not on duty at the time of the shooting. NYPD sources told CBS News New York back in March that he was suspended without pay after the incident.
He was arrested and arraigned Thursday, and is due back in court in October.
Baez has been a police officer for 12 years, and before his suspension, he was assigned security detail at Gracie Mansion, the DA's office said. His stolen vehicle has not yet been found.
