An NYPD prisoner nearly executed a cop — with her own gun — Sunday in a Staten Island hospital room, sources said.
Dante Martin was hospitalized and under police guard in Richmond University Medical Center after an earlier arrest when he wet his gown and asked to use the bathroom.
The cop guarding him, a rookie with less than a year on the job, uncuffed him. Martin punched her in the stomach and knocked her to the ground, sources said.
Then he went for her gun.
Patient Rafael Muniz, 42, of Graniteville, was on the same floor recovering from a hand infection. Muniz said he heard screams and rushed to help. He said he was stunned by the sight of Martin on top of the officer, his hand in her holster, the gun half out. The cop, he said, was yelling, “Please help me, I have a family, please, please, please help me!’
He said he wrapped his arm around Martin’s. “I was telling him, ‘You don't have to do this, You don’t have to do this.’”
He said Martin told him, “But my finger’s already on the trigger.”
Sources said Martin undid one of the latches on the officer’s holster before he was subdued.
The NYPD provided no additional information.
William Smith, a hospital spokesman, said, “This patient was being held in custody in accordance with the NYPD's procedures for such circumstances. The NYPD is conducting an investigation into this morning's events and in deference to that investigation, we must decline any additional comment.”
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