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Armed Suspect who Died in Shootout with Police Had History of Weapons Charges

Scott Willis/WAER News

Syracuse Police have identified the suspect who died in Sunday night’s shootout with police near Syracuse University.  Police say 41-year-old Deric Brown of Syracuse was pulled over on the 600 block of Walnut Avenue for driving with no headlights.  Chief Frank Fowler says the officer noticed the handle of a handgun in the car, and told the suspect to keep his hands up as  he began walking back to his patrol car. Folwer says that's when Brown exited his vehicle fired multiple shots at the officer, who fired back, striking Brown at least once. He died a short time later at Upstate University Hospital.  Police Chief Frank Fowler says Brown had been in trouble before. 

"Our suspect in this case does indeed have a criminal history, which includes weapons possession," Fowler said.

The officer was not wounded and was placed on administrative leave per department protocol. The name of the officer won’t be released until later this week.  Fowler says this is one case many police officers hope they never have to experience on the job.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and Police Chief Frank Fowler address the media Monday.

"If you ask any police officer anywhere in America, what are the three things you would look to avoid throughout your entire career, this would rank right up there in the top three," Fowler said.

The police department continues to investigate the incident. Fowler says police have witness statements and video evidence from a third party.  But he says they need more.

"In the age of modern technology where everyone has the use of a cell phone and video,  if someone happened to capture this...a portion of it...anything you may feel is important or may not feel is important, but may be related to this incident, we ask that you forward your video to us," Fowler requested.

This is the second officer-involved shooting this year where an armed suspected died.  The previous incident took place at a Father’s Day gathering on the near west side.  Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner says although any loss of human life is a tragedy, she believes the officer made the right call.

"We are thankful that the officer is safe, and when all of the witness statements and physical evidence are released by the district attorney, I think that you will see that this is an unfortunate event that we had an excellently trained police officer who made the right decisions," Miner said.

Anyone with more information is being asked to contact the Syracuse Police Department at (315) 442-5222 or by using the SPD tips app.

Credit Scott Willis / WAER News
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WAER News
The incident drew plenty of media attention.

Chris Bolt, Ed.D. has proudly been covering the Central New York community and mentoring students for more than 30 years. His career in public media started as a student volunteer, then as a reporter/producer. He has been the news director for WAER since 1995. Dedicated to keeping local news coverage alive, Chris also has a passion for education, having trained, mentored and provided a platform for growth to more than a thousand students. Career highlights include having work appear on NPR, CBS, ABC and other news networks, winning numerous local and state journalism awards.