By Emma Seiwell and Leonard Greene
Source New York Daily News
A rookie cop shot and wounded in a clash with a menacing Queens bus rider is still struggling with his injuries more than 18 months later, his union chief said Thursday.
Fresh-faced Brett Boller, 22 at the time, was just months into his dream job as an NYPD officer when an encounter with an armed transient, who shot him in the hip, changed his life and career forever.
“I spoke to Officer Boller the other day, and he told me what he went through for the last year and a half,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said ahead of the suspect’s attempted murder trial in Queens Criminal Court.
“Three surgeries, constant physical therapy. He said to me, the things that were once routine are no longer routine. He relied on others to do the basic things in life — get out of bed, change his clothes.”
Cops packed the courtroom where jury selection began in the trial of Devin Spraggins, 23, who is accused of opening fire on Boller after the cop confronted Spraggins on a Parsons Blvd. bus in April 2023.
Prosecutors said Spraggins had been harassing a passenger over a seat when the driver flagged down Boller and his partner to intercede.
The dispute quickly spilled from the bus onto the street, where Boller chased the suspect down. Spraggins pulled a gun and shot the officer in the hip during the ensuing scuffle, police said.
“Put yourself in his shoes, just 22 years old, a healthy New York City police officer,” Hendry said. “He had to learn how to do the basic things in life all over again, step by step. He is making his way back, but he’s still in pain every day. He still can’t run … because of this dangerous individual who is on trial here today.”
He stressed that Spraggins is a dangerous man.
“He didn’t think twice about carrying a loaded firearm on the streets of Jamaica, Queens,” Hendry said. “He didn’t think twice about terrorizing people on a New York City bus. He didn’t think twice about shooting a New York City police officer in full uniform in broad daylight. This individual altered a police officer’s life forever.”
Boller, the son of NYPD Inspector Dan Boller, is back on restricted duty, doing desk work, officials said. He is scheduled to be promoted to detective.
His father was among the cops who crowded the courtroom to hear a prosecutor and a defense attorney deliver opening arguments.
The defendant’s attorney, Michael Horn, said Spraggins was just trying to get away. He said his client thought he was pointing the gun at the ground when he fired it, and wasn’t trying to kill the cop.
“He’s not trying to hurt anyone,” Horn said. “He’s trying to escape. He’s trying to get home to his family and his kid.”
But Eric Weinstein, an assistant district attorney, said Spraggins knew what he was doing.
“This defendant shot Officer Boller with no warning, no threats,” Weinstein said. “Just a pure and utter sneak attack.”
Weinstein said Spraggins squeezed the trigger again, but luckily the gun was empty.
According to the A.D.A., during the chase, the magazine fell out of Spraggins’ weapon, leaving just the one bullet in the chamber.
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