What to Know
- A police officer was shot in her jaw in a firefight on a residential Yonkers street Monday night, officials say
- The officer was taken to the hospital in serious but stable condition; one of two suspects was also injured, authorities say
- The officer and her partner were answering a call about a suspicious vehicle at Rumsey Road and Park Hill Avenue, police say
Dramatic surveillance video and dispatch audio recordings obtained by News 4 reveal the frantic moments after a Yonkers police officer was shot in the face while approaching a suspicious vehicle.
Video shows officer Kayla Maher being rushed out of danger by fellow officers after she's hit during a shootout with two suspects in a car Monday night, thrown over the shoulders of another cop and taken to a waiting squad car.
"We have an officer shot in face," an officer is heard in police radio recordings. "Can we please [expletive] get some units here."
The dispatcher says, "We have an officer shot in the face. Units expedite."
Then the officer is heard repeating, urgently, "Send a truck or something to come get this officer out of here. She's shot in the face. We're right behind the suspect, we're pinned down, we can't [expletive] move."
Maher, who's been with the Yonkers police force for two years, was released from Jacobi Hospital Tuesday afternoon after being hospitalized overnight, and was said to be doing well. Moving freely, she hugged fellow officers who cheered and applauded her as she walked out.
"It could have been much worse, thank God the officer didn't sustain life-threatening injuries," said Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner. "She's lucky to be alive."
Gardner said one of the two suspects was also injured.
Gardner said the officer and her partner were answering a call about a suspicious vehicle at Marshall Road and Ridge Drive. When they approached a small sedan near the intersection, the people inside allegedly opened fire.
The officers ran for cover and returned fire. Gardner said the two groups fired multiple rounds before backup arrived; residents in the area told News 4 that they heard at least 30 shots fired.
"A lot, maybe 40, 50," said Anthony Rabadi, who took cover inside his car with his terrified, crying wife.
A colleague described Maher as "tough" and said she was conscious and speaking with fellow officers Monday night. Her partner wasn't hurt.
Meanwhile, the I-Team has learned that the young man who shot Maher was arrested in May on a weapons charge that, by law, should've put him in jail for up to three years.
Local
The suspect was 17 at the time of that arrest -- it came a month before his 18th birthday. Law enforcement sources say his father had called 911 saying the boy had a gun and the then-teenager was arrested in a White Castle parking lot for illegal possession of a weapon; he also had 300 rounds of ammunition and knives in his possession. In July, a judge, over prosecutors' objections, offered him a plea with youthful offender status, sentencing him to five years' probation.
It was his first arrest. The May case against the suspect, now 18, is sealed because he was a juvenile. It wasn't immediately clear what charges he may face in connection with the Yonkers case.
Police are not sure why the suspects were in the neighborhood or why they opened fire on the officers. One handgun was recovered Monday night, and authorities had the area shut down through Tuesday as they canvassed the scene. No other suspects are being sought, according to police.
