The unarmed woman shot dead by a Brooklyn detective was arrested three times last year for charges that include attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Shantel Davis, 23, was gunned down Thursday night in a stolen car after she blew through three red lights, hit a minivan and tried to escape by driving in reverse.
Now sources reveal Davis was first collared in February last year for driving on a suspended license after she was pulled over for driving through a red light.
She was pulled over a month later for running a red light and was caught tossing marijuana from her car, sources said. Cops also found a gravity knife in the vehicle and charged her with criminal possession of a weapon.
On May 5, 2011, she was arrested with two others in Brooklyn for allegedly kidnapping a 29-year-old man, who was shot three times during the wild ordeal. Davis was booked on charges that include kidnapping, attempted murder, assault and burglary. She was released on $25,000 bail in December last yearand was due back in court on Friday, the day after she was killed.
Thursday night's incident unfolded about 5:40 p.m. in East Flatbush when two plainclothes narcotics cops spotted at the wheel of a gray Toyota Camry she allegedly carjacked at gunpoint on June 5.
Davis — who had eight arrests on her rap sheet, sources said — ran a series of red lights along Church Ave. and crossed a double yellow line to pass cars at E. 38th St., where she smacked into the minivan, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.
As the two cops approached the Camry, they saw Davis slide over to the passenger side, where the seat had been stripped out, and try to open the door.
One officer, who has been on the force six years, got hit by the door and was thrown backward, Browne said. Davis then got back in the driver’s seat, put the car in reverse and hit the gas, police said.
Simultaneously, another cop, identifed by sources as Detective Phillip Atkins, 44, was entering the driver’s side of the Camry, with his gun in hand.
“He’s attempting with the other hand to shift the gear into park,” Browne said.
“When she’s hitting the gas, a single round was discharged from his firearm, striking the woman in the chest.”
Browne said it was too soon to say whether the detective, who has 12 years on the force, meant to pull the trigger or if it was an accident.
Witnesses said it was instantly clear the woman was gravely wounded.“She was bleeding, and then she just dropped. She fell on the floor facedown. She was shaking and the blood was just going out of her,” said one woman who works at a nearby laundermat.
“She was in the street,” Preddie said. “They started giving her chest compressions and took her in the ambulance.”
Davis died at Kings County Hospital. Councilman Jumaane Williams broke the news to her family.
Police said the owner of the Camry confirmed that Davis swiped the vehicle.
Davis, who was identified by family members, was due in court Friday on a kidnapping and attempted murder case stemming from a May 2011 attack.
“This is like a bad dream,” said cousin Stephanie Gilmer, 40, who called Davis a “sweetie pie.”
“She was only 23. She had her whole life in front of her.”
Despite Davis’ criminal record, Assemblyman Nick Perry said he was concerned about the circumstances of her death “because the investigation I have seems to suggest this woman was not a threat.”
Mike Palladino, head of NYPD detectives union, backed Atkins, who had never fired his gun in the line of duty.
“Based on the facts and the circumstances, I’m confident that our detective’s actions were appropriate and justified,” Palladino said.
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Posted By: DAVID JOHNSON
Friday, June 15th 2012 at 6:12PM
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