New York police officer who shot man at random while blackout drunk pleads guilty

A New York City police officer pled guilty to attempted murder on Tuesday for randomly shooting someone while he was off-duty and blackout drunk. He faces nine years in prison.

Officer Brendan Cronin walked up to a car in suburban Westchester County on April 29, 2014 and fired at least 14 times into the window, severely injuring passenger Joseph Felice, 47. Cronin, who had been drinking heavily at a Bronx bar, later said he did not remember the shooting.

Cronin, 28, pled guilty to attempted murder and will be sentenced in December. He has been suspended without pay, and he now plans to resign from the police force, his lawyer told the New York Times.

The officer feels “deep and sincere remorse” for the shooting, the lawyer, Pierre Sussman said. “That will be with him for the rest of his life.”

Felice, who was shot six times, narrowly escaped death. He’s now suing the city, the police department, and Cronin for $90 million.

“It’s been a grueling 16 months since that night of horror,” Felice said at the courthouse, the Journal News reported. He said he was disappointed that Cronin’s sentence wasn’t longer, and thought the officer had not shown remorse.

This isn’t the only embarrassing incident involving NYPD officers and alcohol. Just a few days before Cronin’s shooting, another drunken officer in Brooklyn accidentally shot his partner in the wrist while trying to show off his gun.