A mentally disturbed man who attacked police with a hammer
was shot and killed by the police in Borough Park, Brooklyn,
on Monday evening, according to preliminary reports. The
extreme police reaction -- at least 12 shots were fired --
brought hundreds of area residents into the streets to
protest what they saw as excessive police force.
Gid'on Busch, a former medical student with a kidney ailment
who had become religious and recently moved to Borough Park
at 1619-46th Street, was killed about 7 p.m. on Monday
evening by police responding to a complaint that someone at
his address was threatening children with a hammer. Six
police officers arrived to find Busch in his basement
apartment. He threatened them with his hammer, and when they
ordered him to drop it he went outside.
The officers followed him out to the sidewalk and tried to
subdue him. At that point, when one of the policemen tried to
block his path he attacked him with his hammer. In response
four of the other officers opened fire, hitting Busch. He was
pronounced dead on arrival at the nearby Maimonides Medical
Center.
Shocked by the shooting, hundreds of area residents poured
into the streets. Police reinforcements arrived to help
control the crowds. The protesters strained against police
barricades and occasionally threw objects at officers, but no
one was arrested.
City Councilman Noach Dear arrived and said that he had
questions about the shooting, but he urged residents to
reserve judgment until a formal investigation is carried
out.
Busch's mother, who learned about her son's death on the
television news on Monday night, said that her son had been
diagnosed with a serious kidney ailment eight years ago and
that he had grown increasingly depressed in recent years. He
left medical school when he learned of his ailment. Until a
few months ago, he had lived with his mother and her husband,
but he decided to move to Borough Park because he wanted to
be in a religious neighborhood as he moved closer to Judaism.
His stepfather tried to talk him out of the move, but he
persisted.
Despite becoming more religious in recent years and spending
time in Israel, Busch became progressively more depressed and
troubled. He did not seek treatment for either his emotional
state or his kidney disease though his family had urged him
to do so. His mother said that he had spent considerable
periods in Israel over the last five years, and while there
had joined what she called "a cult" with "extreme"
beliefs.
Neighbors on his block said he often walked around talking to
himself and that he wore heavy clothes throughout the summer.
He was also said to have outbursts, and a complaint was filed
with police the day before saying that he attacked someone
with a hammer. When he was shot he was wearing tallis
and tefillin, even though it was almost night.
While Busch's neighbors agreed that he was emotionally
disturbed, many of the people who poured into the streets
Monday night complained that the police could have subdued
him far less violently.
Many residents demanded that Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who
has enjoyed strong support in Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods,
come to the scene to address their concerns.
Monday night's fatal shooting prompted countless comparisons
by Borough Park residents to the killing of Amadou Diallo,
the unarmed African immigrant who was shot 19 times by
officers in the Bronx in February. Diallo's death prompted
criticism that the New York police force is overly
aggressive.
The new approach to crime and law and order that was
introduced under current Mayor Giuliani is credited with
revitalizing New York City and causing a significant and
noticeable drop in crime. However, some critics charged that
the cost was paid by victims of excessive police zeal in
keeping order and in hounding criminals and suspects.
