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Desmond Robinson (56), cop in 1994 friendly-fire shooting, dead after Florida crash
Filed Under:
Automobile Accident
Published: Oct 20, 2020 @ 6:09 PM
Desmond Robinson (56)
Date:
Oct 15, 2020
Cause of Death:
Accident-auto
Location:
Daytona, FL
URL:
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A former NYPD Transit cop who was critically wounded in a high-profile 1994 friendly-fire shooting at a Manhattan subway station has died following a motorcycle accident in Florida.
Desmond Robinson, 56, was pronounced dead Thursday at Halifax Health Hospital in Daytona following a single-vehicle accident in Palm Coast, Florida, according to an obituary posted by the New York City Retired Transit Police Officers Association.
Robinson complained of chest pains while being airlifted to the hospital's trauma center and suffered a heart attack ' and was resuscitated five times before he died, the obituary said.
'What happened to him back then was messed up,' a police source told The Post. 'Now he dies in a motorcycle crash. It's just sad.'
Robinson, who was black, made headlines in 1994 when he was shot multiple times by a white off-duty cop while working undercover at a subway station at 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue.
Robinson, an eight-year veteran of the force at the time, was shot at least four times after cop Peter Del-Debbio, who was on his way home, mistook him for a suspect ' sparking outrage from civil rights activists that race played a factor in the shooting, according to Post reports from the time.
The wounded cop was trying to arrest two armed teenagers during rush hour at the East Side station when the shooting broke out.
The hectic scene unfolded as one of the teenagers dropped a shotgun while he fled, with the weapon discharging and causing pandemonium at the crowded transit station.
Del-Debbio later testified at his 1996 trial that he feared for his life when he emptied his revolver into Robinson, not realizing he was a cop.
Robinson was hospitalized for more than a month ' and testified at Del-Debbio's trial that he was lying on his stomach when the final two shots were fired into his back, according to the reports.
The jury convicted Del-Debbio of second-degree assault but acquitted him of the more serious first-degree assault charges that would have carried mandatory jail time.
Robinson settled a lawsuit against the city over the shooting for $3 million in 2003 and moved from Staten Island to Florida.
He is survived by a son and two daughters. Details for his memorial service have not been announced.
Related Article(s):
https://nypost.com/2020/10/19/nypd-cop-in-1994-friendly-fire-shooting-dies-after-florida-crash/
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