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Ex-NYPD cop gets up to 4 years for firing gun into ocean on modified duty

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Published June 9, 2022, 2:06 p.m. ET
Two cops David Afanador [green backpack] and Tyrane Isaac [ Beige Suit] walk out of the courtroom of Judge Danny Chun in Brooklyn Supreme Court, New York May 17, 2016
Judge Robert Bogle handed down a 16-month to four-year prison sentence to David Afanador for criminal possession of a firearm. R Umar Abbasi

A former NYPD cop who “recklessly” fired off a gun into the ocean while drinking with friends on Long Island was sentenced to prison Thursday.

Judge Robert Bogle handed down a 16-month to four-year prison sentence to 41-year-old David Afanador for criminal possession of a firearm, Nassau County District Attorney said.

“This defendant knew he could not legally possess a firearm, but still made the decision to drink with friends on a beach and recklessly fire a loaded gun several times into the ocean,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.

“Afanador’s behavior was foolish, dangerous, and illegal. We hope that his sentence sends a message to anyone thinking about illegally discharging a weapon in Nassau County in the name of fun.”

David Afanador
David Afanador was on modified duty, which prohibited him from carrying a firearm, at the time. R Umar Abbasi

Afanador shot seven rounds from a .9mm Beretta into the ocean in Long Beach on March 21, 2021, while drinking a hard seltzer with friends, authorities said.

When cops arrived they found Afanador, who was holding the spiked drink, with the semi-automatic pistol holstered, and they said he was carrying two load magazines.

Afanador was on modified duty, which prohibited him from carrying a firearm, at the time after being criminally charged in a violent arrest that was captured on video.

New York Police officers, including officer David Afanador, right, arrest a man on a boardwalk in New York's Rockaway Beach on Sunday, June 21, 2020.
New York Police officers, including officer David Afanador, arrest a man on a boardwalk in New York’s Rockaway Beach on Sunday, June 21, 2020. New York Police Department via AP
NYPD Officer David Afanador was cited with an official complaint for his alleged use of force during this arrest on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk in June 2020
NYPD Officer David Afanador was cited with an official complaint for his alleged use of force during this arrest on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk in June 2020. NYPD via AP

The former cop, the first officer charged under the state’s ban on police chokeholds, was later cleared of criminal strangulation charges after a Queens grand jury declined to hand up an indictment.