I thought he was really good in A Bronx Tale...now he has his own tale!

[Frandy]

CNN

'Sopranos' actor held in police shooting

Police: Off-duty officer shot in gunfight with burglars

Saturday, December 10, 2005; Posted: 6:09 p.m. EST (23:09 GMT)
NEW YORK (AP) -- A young police officer dying from a bullet to his chest shot two burglars early Saturday, one of them identified as an actor who played a misfit mobster on "The Sopranos."

Officer Daniel Enchautegui, 28, collapsed in the driveway of his Bronx home and died shortly afterward.

The wounded suspects were quickly captured. Investigators identified one as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who got his break in the Robert De Niro-directed film "A Bronx Tale" in 1993, and played doomed mob wannabe Matt Bevilacqua during the 1999-2000 season of "The Sopranos."

Brancato, 29, of Yonkers, was also arrested in June for alleged heroin possession.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the actor and another man were breaking into a vacant home when Enchautegui, who had just finished a late-night shift, heard the sound of smashing glass next door.

Enchautegui was off duty and in his street clothes, but he alerted his landlord and dialed 911 to report a possible burglary in progress. Then he grabbed his badge and a gun and went out to investigate.

His landlord heard Enchautegui shout, "Police! Don't move!" followed by a burst of gunfire, Kelly said.

The alleged gunman, Steven Armento of Yonkers, was shot four times and was in serious condition. Brancato, who police said was unarmed, was shot twice and was in critical condition.

Police said Armento had a lengthy history of arrests on weapons, drugs and burglary charges, and was running with the murder weapon when an officer spotted him near Enchautegui's home and ordered him to stop.

Because of their injuries, there were no immediate plans to arraign the suspects, said Steven Reed, a spokesman for the district attorney. He said he had no information about whether the suspects had lawyers who could comment.

Enchautegui, who was single and had been on the force for three years, was the second officer to die in the line of duty this year. Officer Dillon Stewart was shot in the heart Nov. 28 during a car chase; a suspect has been charged with murder.

"This is a loss to the department and the city," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said. "We now have another life to mourn, taken from us for no sensible reason."

Kelly praised the slain officer for his "incomprehensible courage."

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.





Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/12/10/cop.shot.ap/index.html

 

[Standing Wolf]

Kelly praised the slain officer for his "incomprehensible courage."

Incomprehensible use of an adjective, anyway.

 

[Frandy]

Hey Standing Wolf, what do you mean? His use of the word is understandable to me. True, he might be using the now archaic usage of "having no limits," but perhaps he simply meant to say his courage was difficult to understand, in other words, not very common and tough to wrap your ears around...

 

[Bob F.]

Prayers for the slain officer and praise for his marksmanship, 6 hits! Hope the two perps rot.

Stay safe.
Bob

 

[GRB]

Well this is sort of a duplicate thread but I'll reply here too because someone just made a good point - six hits. That was apparently after he was already hit with a fatal shot from a .357 magnum (according to a NY Times article).

Now that that has been said, yeah I can understand the use of the word 'incomprehensible' by Ray Kelly. It is impossible, for most of those in our society (those who do not face the daily prospect of such ever happening to them), to comprehend just how courageous this man was to keep engaging his adversaries and to hit them 6 times after having already being fatally wounded. The public often just think, oh its a cop's job to do things like this. With cops like Officer Daniel Enchautegui, it is not just their job, it is their dedication, their courage, their willingness to serve and protect, it is them putting their life on the line - something most people will never have to do and which they will never quite understand. Such courageous actions, and the reasons others perform them while the ordinary Joe usually does not, will remain incomprehensible to most of the masses forever. They will never truly understand why he took action, why he confronted 2 assailants, why he stood his ground, why he did not just hide and wait for backup, why he got involved in the first place. No it was not just his job, heck he was even off duty at the time. It was, to most, an incomprehensible courageousness!

My goodness, to make critiques of one’s use of an adjective, at a time of such solemnity for the person who used the word, is absolutely unfathomable as to the depths of its poor taste.

My prayers for the officer, his family and loved ones.

Sincerely,
Glenn B

 

[gunsmith]

I hate actors

that cretin had so much money and he must have stuck all of it in his arm.
what a creep.
no death penalty in NY even if you kill a cop. I hope he gets his in prison and dies slowly & painfully.

prayers for the fallen hero.

I used to live in Yonkers, plenty of guns, all illegal.

 

[whm1974]

The wounded suspects were quickly captured. Investigators identified one as Lillo Brancato Jr., an actor who got his break in the Robert De Niro-directed film "A Bronx Tale" in 1993, and played doomed mob wannabe Matt Bevilacqua during the 1999-2000 season of "The Sopranos."

Why oh why do people who are ahead mess up thier life like this?

that cretin had so much money and he must have stuck all of it in his arm. what a creep.

If I ever get a break like this guy did I'm not going to screw up.

-Bill

 

[GRB]

I used to live in Yonkers, plenty of guns, all illegal.

Not true! Yonkers just like anywhere else in the USA has its share of thugs with guns; however there are plenty of law abiding citizens there who own guns. Once upon a time they used to have a pretty good gun show there at Yonkers Raceway. Then it became as many guns shows are today a: Gun/beef jerky/ Nazia paraphenalia/knife/book/video/junk show - after which it just went away. Too bad it did not just stay the good gun show that it had been.

Yet I digress, sorry, this thread is about the fallen officer and I should not diminish that.

 

[Bob F.]

Blenn: Nicely stated in #5. Thank you.

 

[The_Shootist]

Not To Get TOO Abstract...but...

...on the surface, this was was a scarily violent encounter! The cop evidently had the misfortune of running into a street thug who knew how to shoot (although it wouldn't take too much luck I suppose to score with a .357) AND the cop, even mortally wounded, obtained critical hits on the perps.

All this in darkness....in a quick surprise encounter, with all the stress that entails.

I don't know why I always go to the range in broad daylight - this nasty encounter shows I'm going to have to get some low-light training. Think I might start carrying my G19 (that has Trijicons) alot more frequently.