Peter Figoski
Lamont Pride
FOR DAD: The Figoski sisters — Caroline (far left, in patterned coat) and Christine (near left) — arrive with their mother, Paulette (center), at the Brooklyn court yesterday for the trial of Lamont Pride (right) in the death of the girls’ father, NYPD Officer Peter Figoski (inset middle). (
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Prosecutors began their case yesterday against the career criminal accused of shooting and killing NYPD Officer Peter Figoski in cold blood during an apartment robbery, as the slain cop’s four daughters bravely listened to the heartbreaking details of their dad’s final moments.
Lamont Pride, 28, intentionally shot the dedicated cop when he realized he and his four cohorts couldn’t get away with their small-time apartment theft, Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Ken Taub said in opening arguments.
“He is the guy who fired the gun! He is the guy who killed Pete Figoski!” the prosecutor told the courtroom packed with Figoski’s family and fellow police officers.
“He intended to kill Pete Figoski because that was the only way he was going to escape.”
Pride has claimed he shot Figoski, 47, by accident as he tried to flee — but Taub said Pride racked the gun before the robbery and shot him because the cop blocked his only way out of the East New York apartment.
The single bullet “entered just below his left eye and went straight through his head and came out the back of his neck,” Taub said.
Figoski “never even had a chance to draw his gun. His gun was in his belt when he was shot and killed.”
Each of Figoksi’s daughters — surrounded by dozens of police — dealt with the brutal details in her own way.
“At times it was rough, but it’s important that we are here for our father,” said eldest daughter Christine Figoski, 21, who along with her sisters previously met with prosecutors to prepare for Taub’s graphic account.
“We met with the ADA before, and he prepared us for a lot of what was said today. Even though we were prepared, you could never be fully prepared to hear that,” said the SUNY Oneonta undergrad.
When Taub described the fatal bullet’s trajectory, Christine closed her eyes.
The second eldest, Caitlyn, 19, was so overcome with emotion before Taub detailed the shooting that she nearly fainted — and had to be helped from the courtroom by her mother.
A medically trained court officer gave the Hunter College student, who couldn’t sleep last night, a quick checkup before she re-entered the courtroom, said a source close to the family.
The slain hero’s youngest two daughters — Caroline, 17, and Corinne, 15, both high-school students in West Babylon — listened intently as Taub described how Pride ran past their father’s body and down the street.
Christine drove 180 miles from her upstate college to see her father’s killer and will return to school Sunday.
She’ll drive down again for witness testimony Wednesday and Thursday, the source said.
Each of the daughters took off school yesterday to attend the trial — and will do so on some of the trial’s most important days, said a source close to the family.
Each has spoken with her teachers and plans to make up missed work.
Pride is charged with first-degree murder, and his lawyer, Christopher Wright, said his confessions were coerced after 18 hours of intense interrogation.
Pride “did not intentionally cause the death of Peter Figoski,” Wright insisted during his opening arguments.
“His intent was to flee. His intent was to run away. His intent was not to cause the death of a police officer.
Accused getaway driver Michael Velez, 22 — who went by “Trouble” on the street — is standing trial alongside Pride. Alleged cohort Ariel Tejada, 23, will testify against the two in exchange for an 18-year sentence.