Vest Saves Hero Cop S Life As Manhunt for Shooter Continues

Vest saves hero cop’s life as manhunt for shooter continues

By JESSICA SIMEONE, NATASHA VELEZ and PEDRO OLIVEIRA JR.

Last Updated: 5:22 AM, July 6, 2012

Posted: 1:06 AM, July 6, 2012

A thin layer of Kevlar saved an NYPD housing cop from certain death yesterday after a thug shot him in the chest during a stairwell foot pursuit.

Officer Brian Groves — a seven-year veteran and father of two — would have been struck in the heart if he weren’t wearing his bulletproof vest when he ran into the thug at about 4 a.m. during a stairwell search of 64-66 Essex St. on the Lower East Side, police said.

His shooter got away and was still on the loose early today.

“God bless the bulletproof vest. It saved his life!” Groves’ mom, Ania Gross, 85, told The Post.

GRAVE DANGER: Officer Brian Groves was pursuing a suspect down a stairwell yesterday when the gunman turned and fired, hitting Groves’ bulletproof vest, which saved the cop — who continued his chase.

Groves, 30, and his partner, Erick Corniel, were doing a “vertical” patrol at the Seward Park Public Housing Development after reports of drug activity in the building.

The officers were walking down separate stairwells from the building’s top floor — the 23rd — when Groves spotted the suspect coming toward him with a silver handgun.

The cop shouted, “Gun!” — and chased him down five flights before the thug wheeled around and fired a round that slammed into Groves’ chest like a heavyweight punch, but didn’t breech his protective armor.

Amazingly, Groves continued chasing the gunman down the stairs for nearly four more floors — squeezing off four shots before collapsing from the pain.

Corniel, who heard the shots and his partner’s shouts, found him slumped in the 15th-floor stairwell.

“[Groves] feels pressure, he feels pain and he says to his partner, ‘I think I’ve been hit,’ ” Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

Groves was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was in stable condition and was able to give a description of his assailant. He also told other officers that it felt like he got hit with a baseball bat.

“Thank God for Kevlar, it clearly saved the officer’s life,” Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.

Groves was wearing a Level 3A vest, the highest level of protection for a uniformed officer. But because the shot was fired at nearly point-blank range, it penetrated deeply into the body armor.

“It was imbedded into the last layer of fibers,” said Browne. “It almost went through.”

The shot hit Groves in his sternum, which raised fears of damage to the officer’s heart.

“If hit in the sternum, it could bruise your heart and kill you, which is why doctors are concerned,” Browne said.

Mayor Bloomberg said he spoke to Groves’ wife, Nicole, at the hospital.

Noting that the couple has two little girls, the younger of whom is just 6 months old, he said, “Thank God they will see their father soon and they will be able to grow up with the love every child should have around them.”

Residents of the housing project initially thought the shooting was just Fourth of July fireworks.

“I heard, pow, pow, pow! I think there were four shots. It was Fourth of July, so I thought it was fireworks,” said a resident who gave her name as Yvette. But she soon saw the officer in pain.

“I saw him leaning against the mailbox, saying, ‘Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!’ ” she said. “He was groaning with his legs bending straight out. There was no blood that I could see.”

The coldblooded criminal who shot Groves was described as a African-American in his 20s, about 5-foot-9. He was wearing a black T-shirt and red basketball shorts.

Police put out a sketch of the suspect, who has cornrows that are tied off with beads. A $10,000 reward has been put up for his capture.

Groves could be released from the hospital as early as today.

A neighbor in Patchogue, LI, who once served as Groves’ training sergeant said the cop recently overcame an unspecified health problem and refused to go out on disability.

“Most guys wouldn’t have done that — they would have taken the easy way out. He’s really hard working, and it’s a tough job,” said the retired sergeant, Mickey Visco, 49.

Groves is the ninth city officer to be shot in the line of duty this year. Fortunately, none of them has died.

There also has been a 10.9 percent increase in shootings overall in the city this year.

“There’s just bullets flying all over the place,” the mayor said.

“We have to stop this craziness. Washington needs to do something. It’s just too easy to bring guns across state lines.”