Man charged in fatal shooting of Rochester police officer

Jul 22, 2022, 6:25 AM | Updated: 5:00 pm

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) — A man has been charged in the shooting death of a police officer in Rochester, New York, authorities said Friday.

Another officer was wounded late Thursday in what police described as an ambush. A 15-year-old girl in a nearby house was also shot and wounded.

The slain officer, Anthony Mazurkiewicz, a 29-year member of the department, was in a parked vehicle with Officer Sino Seng when 17 rounds were fired into the vehicle from behind, Rochester Police Capt. Frank Umbrino said at a Friday news conference. The two were part of the department’s plainclothes tactical unit and were investigating a murder.

Umbrino said police found Kelvin Vickers, 21, hiding in the crawl space of a vacant house near the scene about an hour after the shooting, as well as a loaded 9 mm handgun. Umbrino said preliminary testing determined that the gun had been used in the shooting.

Vickers was charged with second-degree murder, attempted murder, assault and weapons counts.

The department’s chief, David Smith, called the shooting “a cowardly ambush” at a briefing earlier Friday.

Vickers is from the Boston, Massachusetts area and has an “extensive criminal background,” Umbrino said. He declined to elaborate, or to comment on why Vickers was in Rochester.

Seng, after being struck in the lower body, got out of the vehicle and fired at the shooter, who was not hit. Seng was treated at a hospital and released. The girl, who was struck by a bullet that penetrated a wall, was recovering, authorities said.

The officers were shot the same day that Mayor Malik Evans declared a “gun violence state of emergency” after a recent spate of shootings in Rochester, a city of about 200,000 on the shores of Lake Ontario.

“Tony Mazurkiewicz could have easily retired, but he chose to continue going on the streets because he didn’t want folks in our neighborhoods to be held hostage by the very cowards that are wreaking havoc in our community,” Evans said in a written statement Friday.

“Not only am I sad for the Mazurkiewicz family — and we pray for the speedy recovery of Sino Seng — I am angry. And upset. Because all too often, we are seeing a blatant disregard for life,” he said.

Evans said the city had, before Mazurkiewicz’s death, recorded 41 homicides this year and more than 200 people had been shot. The homicide count was one less than at the same time the previous year. The mayor said recent shootings were “directly tied to a deadly cycle of disputes and retaliations.”

In November 2021, the mayor at the time, Lovely Warren, declared a similar state of emergency to combat violence. The move clears the way for expanded resources and partnerships with other law enforcement agencies.

“Yesterday morning, at 11 am, I was asked by the media, ‘How dangerous is it out there for the officers of the Rochester Police Department?'” Smith wrote in a statement Friday. “My response was that every day, the men and women of this department leave home, not knowing if they are going to return home at the end of their shift.”

Mazurkiewicz, he said, was killed 10 hours later.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

This photo provided by Robert Wilkes, owner of a house boat management company, shows smoke rising ...

Associated Press

Houseboats catch fire while docked at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell

More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line on Friday.

3 days ago

File - Women work in a restaurant kitchen in Chicago, Thursday, March 23, 2023. On Friday, the U.S....

Associated Press

US hiring, unemployment jump in May and what that says about the economy

The nation’s employers stepped up their hiring in May, adding a robust 339,000 jobs, well above expectations.

3 days ago

(Pixabay Photo)...

Associated Press

Oath Keeper from Arizona sentenced for role in Jan. 6 riot at US Capitol

Edward Vallejo, a U.S. Army veteran from Phoenix, oversaw a “Quick Reaction Force” at a Virginia hotel that was prepared to deploy an arsenal of weapons into Washington if needed, authorities say.

4 days ago

FILE - U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz listens during a news conference, Jan. 5, 2023, in Washi...

Associated Press

US Border Patrol chief is retiring after seeing through end of Title 42 immigration restrictions

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol announced Tuesday that he was retiring, after seeing through a major policy shift that seeks to clamp down on illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border following the end of Title 42 pandemic restrictions.

5 days ago

FILE - President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of Calif., on the House steps as...

Associated Press

House OKs debt ceiling bill to avoid default, sends Biden-McCarthy deal to Senate

The House approved a debt ceiling and budget cuts package late Wednesday, as President Joe Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy assembled a bipartisan coalition of centrist Democrats and Republicans against fierce conservative blowback and progressive dissent.

5 days ago

Sean Bickings (Family Photo via city of Tempe)...

Associated Press

Family of man who drowned last year in Tempe Town Lake files wrongful death lawsuit

The family of a man who drowned in Tempe Town Lake a year ago filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city Wednesday, noting that its police department doesn't have a policy requiring officers to go into the water to save someone.

5 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

How to identify the symptoms of 3 common anxiety disorders

Living with an anxiety disorder can be debilitating and cause significant stress for those who suffer from the condition.

(Photo by Michael Matthey/picture alliance via Getty Images)...

Cox Communications

Valley Boys & Girls Club uses esports to help kids make healthy choices

KTAR’s Community Spotlight focuses on the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley and the work to incorporate esports into children's lives.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.

Man charged in fatal shooting of Rochester police officer