Relative of bystander shot in NYPD 'friendly fire' incident calls cops 'reckless'

The family of a Big Apple resident who was shot in the head by NYPD officers during a “friendly fire” round on a Brooklyn subway train is calling on police to intervene.

“It was reckless on the part of the police,” said Greg Nougues, whose cousin, Gregory Delpeche, was injured in the Sunday afternoon crash that also injured a police officer, another bystander and an accused ticket thief.

“It’s not right for them to shoot at a train like that,” said Nougues, 57, of New Jersey. “They shouldn’t be shooting in front of civilians. For $2 and 90 cents?”

Gregory Delpeche, left, was hit in the head by a police bullet in a “friendly fire” incident in Brooklyn on Sunday, his cousin, Greg Nougues, right, told The Post. Obtained by The NY Post

Delpeche, who was on his way to work at Woodhull Hospital, was hit in the head by one of nine bullets fired by a pair of police officers trying to subdue a belligerent turnstile jumper on the L train at the Sutter Avenue station in Brownsville around 3 p.m.

The suspect, Derrell Mickles, 38, allegedly threatened officers and pointed a knife at them, but two Taser shots failed to stop him – so they opened fire.

New York Police Department Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said at a news conference Sunday night that officers did not realize Mickles had been shot until they began handcuffing him on the floor of the train.

They then realized that one of the officers had been hit in the armpit, as had Delpeche and a woman.

Adding insult to injury, the NYPD said Monday that the knife allegedly used by Mickles was stolen from the crime scene while officers dealt with the fallout from the friendly fire incident.

A police spokesperson told The Post on Monday that while the incident was being reviewed by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division, the two officers had not been placed on modified duty.

Police said Derrell Mickles, a suspected ticket thief, charged at officers with a knife, prompting them to open fire, injuring one officer, two passengers and the suspect Sunday.

Police said an injured NYPD officer did not realize he had been hit by a police bullet until the suspect was handcuffed.

The names of the two officers have not been released and the injured officers are expected to recover.

Mickles was charged Monday with attempted first-degree assault, theft of services, uttering threats and criminal possession of a weapon.

“Greg wasn’t even in the same car when he was shot,” Nicholas Liakas, the attorney representing Delpeche, told the Post Tuesday. “He was in the car that was shot at. You wonder if the officers just shot him?”

“If the individual had a knife and was so close that the officers feared for their lives, if he was close enough to pose an immediate threat, how could you have missed him so many times and shot people in the next car?

“It’s clear he wasn’t right on top of them, based on the ballistics results,” Liakas said. “An innocent bystander on his way to work was shot in the head.”

On Monday, the NYPD said the two officers involved in a friendly fire incident Sunday were still on active duty. GNMiller/NYPost

According to Nougues, his cousin remains in critical condition at Kings County Hospital.

“He’s sedated,” he said of Delpeche. “He can move but he hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

In a statement Tuesday, NYPD PBA Chairman Patrick Hendry blamed Mickles for the entire affair.

“This incident was caused entirely by a dangerous repeat offender who brought a weapon into the subway and used it to attack police officers,” Hendry said. “His actions forced our officers to make difficult, split-second decisions in order to stop a potentially deadly threat.”

“He is solely responsible for all damages caused in this case.”

The NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Additional reporting by Amanda Woods and Craig McCarthy