The Brooklyn man who allegedly shot a New York City police officer in the back on Christmas Eve – but was unable to hurt his target thanks to a bulletproof vest – apologized while being taken to court on Friday.
“I’m sorry, officer,” murmured William Moss from behind a blue mask, when asked by the Post if he had a message for Connor Boalick, the lawman whose life he almost ended.
“I wish it never happened.”
Handcuffed and wearing a gray Nike sweatshirt, Moss expressed his sudden regret as he was taken to the Brooklyn Criminal Court to answer charges, including attempted murder and assault.
Moss, 20, reportedly fired two shots into Boalick’s back at around 9 pm Thursday, when the officer was receiving a statement from Moss’s girlfriend, according to police and sources.
Boalick and his partner were initially called to the scene on Bergen Street and Ralph Avenue in Crown Heights because the woman accused Moss of threatening to shoot her home, police and sources said.
Thanks to his bulletproof vest, Boalick, 27, escaped the cowardly attack from the back largely unharmed, leaving Kings County Hospital on Christmas morning.
While expressing gratitude that Boalick survived to tell the story, Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association union, said at the hospital that lawmakers should help promote a pro-police climate where criminals fear the consequences of shooting the Finest.
Barring a subpoena for smoking marijuana, Moss had never come across the NYPD, according to police and sources.
He must be charged on Christmas Eve.