AG opens probe into NYPD killing of Belt Parkway driver

The state attorney general’s office has opened a probe into the fatal shooting of a crazed Brooklyn driver by NYPD officers.

A speeding Brian Astarita crashed his vehicle into a cop car around 4 p.m. Nov. 11 during a chase on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn and then got out and approached officers with a BB gun, refusing to halt, before he was shot dead, authorities have said.

Police sources have said the case appears to be suicide-by-cop.

The New York Attorney General’s Office of Special Investigation said Sunday that it will probe the case as required by the passage of state criminal-justice reforms in 2020.

“Pursuant to New York State Executive Law Section 70-b, OSI assesses every incident reported to it where a police officer or a peace officer, including a corrections officer, may have caused the death of a person, by an act or omission,” the AG’s office said in a statement.

“If OSI’s assessment indicates an officer caused the death, OSI proceeds to conduct a full investigation of the incident,” the statement said.

Astarita, 65, had been initially pulled over by an NYPD officer for speeding in his gray Jeep Cherokee near the parkway’s Bay 8th Street exit in southern Brooklyn, authorities said.

As a second cop approached the car, he fled, according to the NYPD. The female officer followed in pursuit, but Astarita rammed her car when she nearly stopped in front of him near the Verrazzano Bridge, police said.

A third patrol cop joined the pursuit, and officers finally pulled over Astarita near the Bay Parkway Avenue entrance.

The man grabbed his black BB gun from his back seat and walked toward officers on the highway, police said. Cops opened fire, striking him multiple times, according to police.

The chaos played out in front of standstill traffic, and several horrified onlookers captured the drama on video. In one clip, a witness was heard saying, “Oh, he has a gun!” as two cops sought cover behind an NYPD vehicle.

A man who saw the shooting added, “Yo, bro, I’m f–king shaking.”

The Office of Special Investigation launched on April 1 of this year, but the attorney general’s office has had the power to investigate illegal conduct by police officers since an executive order signed by ex-Gov. Cuomo in 2015.

As of Aug. 31, the new office had  25 investigations or preliminary assessments under way, just six of which pre-date the office’s opening in April, according to an annual report released in October.

Probe topics include police-involved shootings, deaths at jails or prisons and officer-involved fatal car crashes.