COP SHOOTS MAN FLEEING POT ARREST

A Nassau police officer shot an unarmed man Thursday after the man
allegedly reached into his waistband when he was ordered not to move,
officials said Friday.

Kory Ephriam, 30, of 200 Wellesley Ave. in Hempstead, was shot in the back
and taken to Nassau University Medical Center, where he was in stable
condition Friday. He was arrested on charges of possession of a small
amount of marijuana and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors.

"It appears that the shooting was justified," said Det. Sgt. Kevin Smith, a
department spokesman. "The district attorney's office is also taking a look
at it."

Ephriam's stepfather, Willie Ransom, said Friday that the family didn't
think he should have been shot.

"I don't think it was justified," Ransom said. "They always say that, then
get away with it."

The incident began about 10:20 p.m. Thursday when two plainclothes officers
from the department's Bureau of Special Operations spotted a 1989 Ford
Taurus with a broken back windshield while on routine patrol, police said.
Ephriam was in the front passenger seat and another man, whom police did
not identify, was driving.

The officers stopped the car on East Fulton Street in Roosevelt to
investigate, police said. The officer who approached the passenger side
spotted a bag of marijuana on the floor of the car by Ephriam's feet,
police said.

The driver was removed from the car and complied with police demands. But
when an officer tried to arrest Ephriam, he fled through the driver's side
and ran south on Ellison Avenue. One of the officers chased him while the
other remained with the driver.

Two First Precinct officers eventually joined the foot chase after a call
for additional help was made. After running through several yards, Ephriam
hid in the rear of a home on Pleasant Avenue. First Precinct Officer Dennis
Walsh searched the yard and located Ephriam squatting behind a house.

Walsh, an 11-year veteran, told Ephriam he was under arrest and ordered him
not to move. Police said Walsh had encountered Ephriam before on the street
and had arrested him on marijuana and knife-possession charges.

"The officer is approaching him with warnings to freeze and not to move,"
Smith said. "The subject [Ephriam] drops to his knees and makes a motion
toward his waist. With that, he begins to turn toward the officer.
Believing he has a weapon, the officer fires one shot."

The 9-mm round entered and exited Ephriam's back without causing serious
injury.

Ransom thinks there wasn't enough justification to shoot his stepson.

"Just because he put his hand there they shot him?" Ransom said. "He didn't
have a weapon."

Ephriam was arrested and taken to Nassau University Medical Center in East
Meadow for his injury, police said. He is scheduled to be arraigned at a
later date.

The driver of the car was taken to the First Precinct in Baldwin and
released after a brief investigation. No charges were filed against him.
The car was not stolen, as police had suspected.

Walsh was treated and released at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre
for a minor injury to his ankle and is on sick leave from the department.

The Deadly Force Response Team, which evaluates situations where police
officers fire their weapons, investigated the shooting and determined that
Walsh had used proper force.