New York City Cop Dies After He Accidentally Shoots Himself In Leg

Jet, Dec 25, 2000

A veteran New York detective died recently after he accidentally shot himself while he was cleaning his service revolver, police said.

Detective David Allen, 42, called 911 from his Brooklyn apartment the morning of the incident.

"I shot myself in the leg," Allen said. Then the line went dead. The 15-year veteran did not identify himself as a New York City police officer. Investigators speculate that Det. Allen may have lost consciousness while he was talking with the emergency operator.

Officers from the 79th Precinct in Brooklyn--where Allen spent his entire career--responded immediately but could not break down the heavy steel door to the detective's sixth-floor studio apartment.

Emergency medical services workers eventually were able to gain entry and found Allen face down on his bedroom floor; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A gun-cleaning kit was found nearby.

An autopsy showed that the gunshot wound perforated Allen's femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death. Allen's death was ruled an accident, said Ellen Borakove, spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office.

Allen, assigned to the Community Affairs Unit, was described as well-liked and respected, with no civilian complaints lodged against him. At the time of his death, he was organizing a Christmas-Kwanzaa toy drive for needy youngsters.

The divorced father of three also served as deacon, trustee and head of security at Pentecostal Baptist church.

"He did what a great man does, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said, the Daily News reported. "He didn't forget where he came from, and lifted up his people. He exemplified what it means to be a role model."