A former Columbia College medical scholar was shot within the face by a police officer who was amongst cops responding to a name about an armed man menacing individuals on a Lengthy Island road.
Cops allege Adrian Thompson, 27, was armed with a big knife and horrifying individuals in Westbury, the place he lives.
When officers responded, Thompson allegedly shattered a cop automotive together with his knife; an officer fired a shot however missed, police mentioned. The suspect then went to the opposite facet of the police automotive, and a special cop shot him within the face. He’s anticipated to be OK and can face prices together with two counts of menacing a police officer.
No different accidents had been reported.
Columbia’s Vagelos School of Physicians and Surgeons profiled Thompson in a 2022 story about medical college students who assume deeply about drugs’s position in society, and the varsity’s position in selling social justice.
“Given the occasions of 2020 and, actually, simply dwelling as a Black man in America, I see my position in drugs in the beginning to take care of individuals in want,” Thompson mentioned within the 2022 interview. “I can not neglect the well being disparities, particularly by way of disparate entry to advances like telehealth and the variations in high quality of care primarily based on whether or not an individual has public or personal medical insurance protection.”
“Even after I was trying into faculties, anti-racism and well being fairness had been on the high of my record,” he added.
It isn’t clear when, or why, Thompson left Columbia.
Officers say police’s solely prior run-in with him was April 13. He was behaving erratically and had allegedly sniffed glue. Authorities say he might have psychological well being points.
In response to his neighbors, Thompson and his older brother are respectful, mild-mannered, and clever males. They are saying the lads have lived in Westbury with their dad and mom their whole lives.
Thompson is predicted to be arraigned at his hospital bedside later Tuesday. Lawyer info for him wasn’t instantly clear.
