The drugged-up man who jumped into 42nd Street-Eighth Avenue traffic and waved an imaginary gun at police officers — leading them to accidentally shoot and wound two passers-by — was on a “suicide-by-cop” mission, law-enforcement sources said Sunday.
When coke-snorting career criminal Glenn Broadnax, 35, simulated pointing a gun at cops with his finger outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal at around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, he was daring the officers to fire, the sources said.
“Sometimes when they do that, go into their pockets like that, they want to die. They want you to shoot them,” a source said. “You have that split second to decide, and if you’re wrong . . . , if they have a gun and you don’t think they do, they can blast you away.”
Another source added, “It appears to be a suicide-by-cop [attempt].”
Broadnax told cops after his arrest, “I was on a mission to kill myself,’’ a third source said.
But some local residents questioned whether the cops should have fired, given the heavily trafficked area.
“It was excessive force. I was shocked to hear the shots, and when I heard why, I was upset,’’ said Todd Noel, 25, who lives in the neighborhood. “Nobody’s life was in danger. It’s ridiculous for them to go for the deadly weapon. It’s especially dangerous in this type of area.”
Resident Jen Brown, 31, added, “I just said to my roommate, ‘I’m not going to take 42nd Street because I don’t want to get shot by someone who can’t aim.’ ”
The two officers who fired a total of three shots have been assigned to desk duty, a routine move pending a probe by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
One of the officers has 1¹/₂ years on the job, while the other has three.
According to NYPD protocol, an instance in which an officer can fire his weapon is if he feels his life is in danger.
Broadnax was not hit by the bullets but was eventually brought down by a taser fired by NYPD Sgt. Eric Perez, the sources said.
Theodora Ray, 54, took a bullet in her leg — breaking two bones in her calf — as she stood leaning on her four-wheeled walker across from the bus terminal. She remained hospitalized at Bellevue on Sunday.
Sahara Khoshakhlagh, 35, was grazed in her buttocks. She was treated at Roosevelt Hospital before being released early Sunday.
“We’ve decided we’re not going to share our story with the media,” Khoshakhlagh’s husband said at the couple’s Upper East Side apartment.
Broadnax was charged with menacing, obstructing governmental administration, riot, criminal possession of a controlled substance, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
He was taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation and then to the precinct station house before his arraignment hearing.
Broadnax is no stranger to cops, with at least 23 prior arrests, according to law-enforcement sources.
He’s also done two prison stints, including for attempted robbery, one in 1998 and the other in 2009.
Additional reporting by David K. Li