Officer's bullet killed man in New City standoff

NEW CITY – An officer's bullet killed an angry man armed with a high-powered rifle who barricaded himself for hours inside a North Little Tor Road house Sunday night, Clarkstown police said.

The fatal shot – from a Clarkstown officer with the specialized Critical Incident Response Team – came Monday morning after a more than five-hour standoff during which Vincent Cordaro fired repeatedly at police, including one bullet that ripped into a neighbor's house.

Clarkstown Police Chief Michael Sullivan said officers considered the 57-year-old auto mechanic intoxicated and highly agitated as he threatened to kill them with his .308 rifle and scope.

His family told police he used drugs and was drunk Sunday when he got into a fight with his ex-wife and other family members, Sullivan said. They went to the police at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, saying he had threatened to kill them and police. Police reached the property at 8:10 p.m.

Sullivan said Cordaro told police negotiators over the phone: "I have a .308 and I'll take your helmet right off" as well as "I will put a bullet in your head."

While neighbors described him as friendly, Cordaro had a criminal history for burglary and drunken driving, including a DWI conviction in 1998 and a pending DWI charge from September 2014.

Cordaro seems to have had a grudge against the Clarkstown officer who charged him with the latest DWI; Sullivan said kept asking for that officer to come to the house.

He fired 10 to 15 bullets at the officers from the house at 67 North Little Tor Road and in addition to the rifle also was armed with a shotgun, with which he had threatened his family.

Cordaro lived in the house with two tenants, one of whom was at home when police responded and freed following police negotiations.

During the incident, police told neighbors to take shelter in their homes, turn out the lights and stay away from windows.

As the situation escalated with Cordaro, police tried to use gas at 11:35 p.m. Sunday to force him out. But that only angered him more, and he fired more shots at the officers. The CIRT officer responded with one shot to protect the advancing officers.

Police didn't confirm Cordaro had been struck for some time. When the scene fell quiet, however, they sent in a robot from the Rockland Sheriff's Office bomb squad at 12:28 a.m. Monday. After the robot failed to negotiate the mess inside the house, officers entered the house and found Cordaro dead, Sullivan said.

Sullivan said the investigation by the medical examiner would determine exactly where Cordaro was struck.

Sullivan said the officer who fired the fatal shot is now on administrative leave, a standard move. He was taken to Nyack Hospital for treatment.

"He's doing well," he said. "He's upset but he's holding up well."

Sullivan said officers had gone to the house at least twice before for domestic violence issues.

Neighbors recalled a different side of Vincent Cardaro, who ran Honest Vinny Mobile Auto Service out of his detached garage next to the1960 split-level house with red clapboard siding.

Donna Eiseman, who lives around the corner, said she'd known Cordero the 22 years she's lived in the neighborhood. She said he would help people in the neighborhood with their cars and considered him "a great guy."

"He'd give you the shirt off his back," Eiseman said. "I'm very sad about what happened."

She said the police department did a "fantastic job," and complimented officers for showing restraint and protecting the neighbors.

"I felt secure because of of the police department," she said, "but it was very nerve-wracking listening to the shots."

Others said Cordaro would volunteer to clear walkways and driveways for neighbors in need or tinker under the hood of a car and check the engine.

"If you had trouble with your car he'd fix it," said Joanne Scichilone, who lives on Greenwood Drive. "No questions asked."

Neighbors also hinted at problems in Cordaro's personal life, although they declined to specify. Eiseman said he had "troubles" at times.

On Monday, a white Ford pickup truck was parked in the driveway along with two cabin cruisers under white tarps. The larger of the two boats flew a pirate flag.

Two Clarkstown police cars sat idling in front of the home, their headlights illuminating the falling snow.

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