Man sentenced to at least 39 years in prison for attempted murder of NYPD rookie

By Barry Williams, Leonard Greene
New York Daily News

NEW YORK – A threatening one Queens bus driver convicted of shooting New York City police officer after an argument with a fellow passenger sentenced to at least 39 years in jail Monday as a courtroom full of angry police officers looked on.

The shooter was Devin Spraggins convicted last month of attempted murder for shooting police officer Brett Boller for interfering in a minor dispute over a bus seat in Jamaica.

Boller, then 22, was only months into his dream job as an NYPD officer when he encountered the armed transient who shot him in the hip. Officials said Boller was lucky to survive.

“A police officer spent over a year undergoing surgeries and physical therapy recovering from his gunshot and only by a twist of fate was he not killed,” he said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

“Because the officer was on the ground, this defendant did not attempt to escape. Instead, he aimed the gun and pulled the trigger again. This would have been a cold-blooded execution had the magazine not fallen out of the gun as Spraggins fled from police.”

Prosecutors said Spraggins was harassing a passenger about a seat when the driver stopped Boller and his partner to intervene.

The April 5, 2023, dispute The crowd quickly spilled out of the bus and onto the street, where Boller chased the suspect near 161st St. and Jamaica Ave. Spraggins pulled out a gun and shot the officer in the hip during the ensuing altercation, police said.

According to court documents, the bullet shattered Boller’s hip and pierced his femoral artery.

Spraggins tried to shoot Boller again, but there were no bullets left in the gun, officials said.

Boller, who remains on limited duty, was promoted to detective.

Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association, said the harsh sentence sent a strong message.

“We are grateful to this judge who understands the importance of keeping this attempted cop murderer off the streets and behind bars for a long, long time,” Hendry said in Queens Supreme Court. “He decided to shoot a New York police officer in full uniform. Then he stood over him and tried to murder him. Thank God that didn’t happen.”

Spraggins was acquitted of attempted murder charges against a second police officer. He was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison for shooting Boller.

Hendry was joined by Boller’s father, NYPD Inspector Don Boller, and more than a dozen police officers who filled the courtroom each day of the trial.

The elder Boller thanked the medical staff who saved his son’s life and the police officers who showed their support.

“Members of the 103rd Precinct, police officers, sergeants, we didn’t know them,” Boller said. “They came that night and the support they gave us was incredible. “They treated us like they had known us for life and he was only there for three months.”

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©2024 New York Daily News. Visit nydailynews.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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