Metro

Hero NYPD cop cheered on as he leaves hospital after treatment for gunshot wounds

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EMOTIONAL: A misty Sgt. Craig Bier, who was shot by a thug in both legs, leaves Jamaica Hospital yesterday (left) to applause of fellow cops. (
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A tough-as-nails cop who was shot in both legs as he chased a crook in Queens was released from the hospital yesterday to the hearty cheers of more than 100 colleagues.

Sgt. Craig Bier was moved to tears by his fellow officers’ sentiments as he left Jamaica Hospital in a wheelchair. “I feel good — I feel good,” he told a reporter.

He was serenaded by bagpipers as the crowd of officers, most in dress uniform, rooted him on.

Bier, who has been awarded 65 medals during his 15-year career, was whisked away by car to an undisclosed location.

The 44-year-old police hero was shot allegedly by John Thomas, a career crook with a lengthy record of drug arrests. Thomas remained at large yesterday with a $32,000 bounty for information leading to his arrest.

Bier has already begun physical therapy and spent some of his last hours in the hospital yesterday morning reading physical fitness magazines, said NYPD Lt. John Connolly.

“He’s really into staying in shape. Really great guy, just a warrior,” said Connolly, who works on employee relations for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly.

Bier is lucky neither wound to his legs was life-threatening, said a source on the trauma team that treated him at Jamaica Hospital on Wednesday night.

The shots just missed the arteries in his legs, and Bier was hardly bleeding at all when he arrived in the emergency room.

“This guy couldn’t have been luckier if you showed them where to shoot him,” the source said.

“He is in a lot of pain,” said Rick Sepulveda, an uncle from Hicksville, LI. Sepulveda said the wounds have “got to hurt. But we’ve all got to be thankful.”

“He’s a really good man, and he’s a great cop. If he were in the service, he would be a SEAL,” Sepulveda said. “He just wants to relax. He’s got to get his head straight.”

Bier and Detective Nick Romano, both of the Queens Gang Unit, were patrolling Jamaica in an unmarked car about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday when they saw a man on a bicycle acting suspiciously, said law-enforcement sources.

When they approached, the man — later identified as Thomas — took off running.

Thomas allegedly turned and fired four times, hitting Bier once in each leg.

Bier fell to the ground but managed to squeeze off six shots. Police say it’s possible Thomas was wounded.

Thomas was identified by fingerprints on either the 9mm pistol fired at Bier or its magazine, and on keys dumped at the scene, sources said.

The gun was originally bought in South Boston, Va. It had three rounds left in the magazine, and one in its firing chamber.

Thomas would be wise to give himself up, said Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins.

The SBA yesterday added $10,000 to the reward offered for information leading to Thomas’s arrest, boosting its total to $32,000.

“I have to believe someone is hiding him,” said Mullins. “To that person, I say there is a lot of money on his head. Take the money and turn him in. We are going to get him anyway.”

Bier is the 10th cop wounded in the line of duty this year.