It’s a tragedy whenever New York loses one of its Finest in the line of duty.
But the pain is infinitely more acute when that death comes by friendly fire.
Officer Omar Edwards, a rookie cop and father of two, was fatally shot by a fellow officer in East Harlem Thursday as he pursued a suspected car-burglar.
“This is a sad day for the city and for the New York Police Department,” Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
You can say that again.
According to police, Edwards, 25, of Brooklyn, was off duty and in civilian clothes when he confronted Migueal Goitia, 42, trying to break into his car.
Edwards, gun drawn, was chasing Goitia across East 125th Street when a team of three cops encountered the pair.
According to two of them, the third yelled for Edwards to drop his gun, then fired six shots when Edwards instead turned toward them.
Needless to say, a full investigation is vital.
Benefit of the doubt in these cases — at least initially — should almost always go to the firing officer, who needs to make a life-or-death decision in little more than a split second.
Officer Edwards would likely be the first to understand that.
Yet the NYPD has strict guidelines both for the use of deadly force and for confrontations between officers when at least one is in civilian clothing.
Department investigators need to find out whether those were followed — and if not, why not.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau is also on the case.
Further complicating matters, Edwards was black, while the firing officer — 4½-year veteran Andrew Dunton — is white.
No doubt, some will choose to see the incident entirely through race-colored glasses.
That’s entirely premature — and irresponsible to boot — but the best answer is a full and thorough investigation.
We have no doubt that Morgenthau is up to the task.
Meanwhile, Officer Edwards’ family and his NYPD comrades mourn their loss. The city mourns with them.