WHITE PLAINS (1010 WINS) -- White Plains Police say an off-duty officer was acting in the line of duty when he was shot and killed outside a county government complex.
Mount Vernon Police Officer Christopher Ridley, 23, was killed by officers from a different department early Friday evening during a confused confrontation. According to White Plains cops, he had witnessed an assault and was making an arrest when he was gunned down.
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Witnesses said officers from the Westchester County Police Department came upon the scene and ordered Ridley, who was not in uniform, to drop his gun. Bystanders said the county officers fired when Ridley did not immediately comply.
The Rev. Al Sharpton and members of Ridley's family paid a visit to White Plains police headquarters Saturday afternoon to demand a thorough investigation. Ridley attended the same church in Mount Vernon as the chairman of Sharpton's civil rights group.
Speaking to reporters, Sharpton said he didn't know whether race was a factor in the shooting.
Ridley is black. Authorities did not initially reveal the ethnicity of the officer who shot him. Sharpton said he would reserve judgment until the facts are known.
``As we are calling on the community not to rush to judgment, the police should not rush to judgment,'' Sharpton said. ``You should not do a 12 hour investigation and say it was a justified shooting.''
Ridley's father, Stanley, stood with Sharpton during the news conference but did not speak to reporters. Nearby, a group of women sobbed, ``They killed our baby.''
The Rev. William Mizell, associated pastor at Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, remembered the slain officer as a music lover who was active in the congregation and would sometimes help children cross the street on their way to services.
``This was a young man who always had compassion for others,'' Mizell said. ``That's how he lived and that's how he died.'' He said Ridley was single and had no children. Ridley's father is a custodian at the church.
Ridley joined the Mount Vernon police force in 2006.
Photo from WNBC.com
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