By Barry Williams, Leonard Greene
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A menacing Queens bus rider convicted of shooting a rookie NYPD cop after an altercation with a fellow passenger was sentenced to at least 39 years in prison on Monday as a courtroom filled with angry cops looked on.
Gunman Devin Spraggins was convicted last month of attempted murder for shooting Officer Brett Boller for intervening in a petty fight over a bus seat in Jamaica.
Boller, 22 at the time, was just months into his dream job as an NYPD officer when he crossed paths with the armed transient who shot him in the hip. Officials said Boller was fortunate to survive.
“A police officer has spent over a year with surgeries and physical therapy recovering from getting shot, and only by a twist of fate was not killed,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“With the officer on the ground, this defendant did not attempt to escape. Instead, he aimed that gun and pulled the trigger again. This would have been a cold-blooded execution, if not for the magazine dropping from the gun as Spraggins ran from the police.”
Prosecutors said Spraggins had been harassing a passenger over a seat when the driver flagged down Boller and his partner to intercede.
The April 5, 2023, dispute quickly spilled from the bus onto the street, where Boller chased the suspect down near 161st St. and Jamaica Ave. Spraggins pulled a gun and shot the officer in the hip during the ensuing scuffle, police said.
The bullet shattered Boller’s hip and pierced his femoral artery, according to court papers.
Spraggins attempted to fire at Boller again but there were no bullets left in the gun, officials said.
Boller, who is still on restricted duty, has been promoted to detective.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said the stiff sentence sends a strong message.
“We’re thankful to this judge who understands the importance of keeping this attempted cop killer off the streets and behind bars for a long long time,” Hendry said outside Queens Supreme Court . “He decided to shoot a New York City police officer in full uniform. Then he stood over him and tried to assassinate him. Thank God that didn’t happen.”
Spraggins was acquitted of attempted murder of a second police officer. He was sentenced to 39 years to life for shooting Boller.
Hendry was joined by Boller’s father, NYPD Inspector Don Boller, and more than a dozen police officers who filled the courtroom every day of the trial.
The elder Boller thanked the medical staff who saved his son’s life and the cops who showed their support.
“Members of the 103rd Precinct, cops, sergeants, we didn’t know them,” Boller said, “They showed up that night and the support they gave us was unbelievable. They treated us like they knew us for a lifetime and he was there for only three months.”
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