By Bryan Schwartzman
For the second time in the city's history, Chief Medical Examiner Charles Hirsh has decided that a death was a “suicide by cop,” said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office. The same determination was made in the death of a man in 1996, Borakove said.
“He provoked police personnel into shooting him by pointing a gun and carrying a knife,” said Borakove
Five police officers shot and killed Murphy, 43, on April 20 after they had responded to a 911 call that he was punching and stabbing his mother Dorothy in the middle of the street, police said. Dorothy Murphy was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and released several days later.
But while initial police reports said Murphy had fired shots at police, no shells were ever found and police later said Murphy's handgun was incapable of firing.
The medical examiner's apparent delving into Murphy's state-of-mind has created some controversy.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office has been investigating the shooting, said the medical examiner's findings will not have any influence on whether he decides to press charges against the police officers.
“His decision does not relieve us of our obligation to investigate those circumstances and, if appropriate, present the matter to the grand jury,” said Brown.
He said if the investigation found an unjustified use of deadly force on the part of police, “we would ask the medical examiner to change his findings and ask the death certificate be amended.”
Murphy's mother could not be reached for comment.
Police came to 53rd Avenue after 9 a.m. on April 20 and quickly blocked both ends of the street. Police Officer Valerie St. Rose said that when police arrived, Murphy was armed with a handgun, a 12-inch kitchen knife, and he had slashed one of his wrists.
“He was in a stupor, he was staring straight ahead,” neighbor Frank Connolly said during an interview the day after the shooting.
He said Murphy put down his knife and jacket and continued heading toward police on 74th Street with his gun. Police said they asked Murphy to drop the gun three times, and when he began to raise the gun, five police opened fire.
“He was committing suicide. What else did he expect to happen when he raised the gun?” Connolly said.
Connolly described Murphy, a Navy veteran, as a good man whose life was caught in a downward spiral of depression.
Neighbors said Murphy and his mother had been arguing over his plans to visit a woman friend in Poland.
Murphy worked for many years as a laborer at the Merchant Marine Academy on Kings Point, said Capt. John Jochmans, the assistant supervisor of administration for the academy.
Murphy achieved the rank of third class officer in the Navy before being discharged in 1987.
Connolly said that in the last three months of his life Murphy could barely hold a conversation and was rapidly losing weight from not eating. He said Murphy was hospitalized four times in the last three months for unspecified reasons, but was never kept for psychiatric treatment.
“He didn't need help physically, he needed help mentally,” Connolly said.
