Another look at the scene (Gabriella Bass)
The pellet gun used by Santos (
)
A pair of undercover cops fatally shot an opportunistic crook in Queens last night after he pointed a pellet gun at them as they arrested a drug dealer, police said.
Not realizing that the two plainclothes men were actually police officers involved in a drug buy-and-bust, Victor Santos, 42, thought he had stumbled on a robbery in progress at Seneca and Gates Avenues in Ridgewood — and hoped to clean out all three men for himself, authorities said.
“He thinks he’s witnessing a drug [robbery] and thinks he’s going to take the proceeds from everyone,’’ said a police source, adding that Santos was known in the neighborhood for pulling heists.
Santos exited the livery car he was in, ran toward the trio and raised his gun at the officers as their backs were turned, police said.
The handcuffed dealer saw Santos pulling his weapon and informed him that he was waving a gun at law enforcement, not a pair of thugs, authorities said.
‘They’re cops, you idiot!” Rivera bellowed as the detectives wheeled around to face Santos.
Face to face with what they thought was a Glock semiautomatic pistol, the officers squeezed off six shots and struck the seasoned shakedown artist three times in the torso and leg, cops said.
He was later pronounced dead on arrival at nearby Wyckoff Hospital.
Sources said Santos’ weapon was later discovered to be a Walther CP99 compressed air pistol.
NYPD policy allows cops to fire if officers had good reason to think that the weapon was real and feared for their lives.
Witnesses said the undercovers — neither of whom had fired his weapon before — had their badges displayed during the lethal exchange.
The dead man had 39 prior raps against him for charges including assault, trespassing, and robbery and had just been released from prison in June after a six-month stint. He had 15 prison stays under his belt, with his first arrest dating back to 1987.
Rivera told investigators that he recognized Santos by face from the neighborhood but didn’t know him personally.
“I was watching [TV’s] ‘Law and Order: SVU,’ and I heard four to five shots ring out,” said nearby resident David Treutly of the shooting.
“When I went outside, there were eight to 10 plainclothes talking together, and at least 14 cop cars showed up. I saw the guy lying on the sidewalk. He was motionless when he was put into the ambulance.”
Rivera was taken to a local hospital for observation after allegedly ingesting a small amount of crack cocaine during the chaos, cops said.
He was eventually charged with sale of a controlled substance, tampering with evidence, and possession of marijuana.
Several other cops who were stationed in a nearby building as back up for the buy-and-bust operation heard the shots and poured into the street to aid their partners, police said.
The incident took place near a rowdy tavern named The Blue Bar, where patrons had gathered to watch the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Manny Pacquiao fight.
Additional reporting by C.J. Sullivan