A retired NYPD cop was arrested after he fired off his gun during a clash with a group of teens near Brooklyn College, police said Thursday.
Vinicio Colon, 57, claims he was being mugged and beaten by the teens when he pulled out his firearm to defend himself and accidentally let a round off into the sidewalk, cops said. Police charged him with reckless endangerment.
The former officer told cops he was with his family when he got into a clash with the teens just outside the Brooklyn College campus in Flatbush about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the sources said.
When the teens began beating him, the retiree pulled his gun and accidentally fired a round into the ground near Bedford Ave. and Campus Road, he told cops.
The startled teens ran off and have not been caught. Responding officers found one .9-mm slug in the sidewalk and took Colon into custody.
Colon is accused of “causing a substantial risk” to those around him “by discharging his firearm,” according to police records.
His arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court was pending Thursday. He lives in East Flatbush, according to cops.
Colon joined the NYPD in 1994 and retired in 2017, according to city records.
