Fishkill man shot by police pleads guilty to attempted weapon possession
A man who was shot by Town of Fishkill police during a struggle earlier this year pleaded guilty this week to an attempted weapon possession charge.
Michael Becerril, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony.
A grand jury in June decided the three Fishkill police officers involved with the shooting were justified in their actions.
Becerril is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 23 to be sentenced.
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The incident began around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 at the apartment complex off Route 52. Sgt. Gerald Cocozza and officers Joseph DiPalma and John Hurtado responded to a separate, unrelated domestic incident at the Views when they "heard screaming coming from the top of Rocky Glen Road," according to an indictment of Becerril.
DiPalma and Hurtado saw Becerril stabbing himself in the head with a knife, while the 30-year-old woman was hanging on his arm, trying to stop him, according to the indictment.
Hurtado grabbed the woman and pulled her away from Becerril, whom he told repeatedly to drop the knife. Hurtado used a stun gun on Becerril but it had no effect, according to the indictment.
DiPalma approached and told Becerril to get on the ground, but he allegedly charged DiPalma, who fired his gun, "striking Becerril but not slowing him down," according to the indictment.
The woman ended up on the ground, shot, during the violence. It remains unclear who shot the woman, who survived.
Becerril allegedly knocked DiPalma to the ground and struggled to take his gun. Several shots were then fired from DiPalma's gun during the struggle, according to the indictment.
Becerril fell to the ground and the gun dropped from his hand, according to the indictment. He allegedly got back up, unarmed, and approached Cocozza while saying, "you are going to have to kill me." Becerril then collapsed.
Becerril was flown to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla in critical condition.
He is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond, pending sentencing. His attorney, Jonathan Goldman, could not immediately be reached for comment.
On June 22, a Dutchess County Court grand jury found insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against any of the officers.
"The grand jury heard four full days of testimony in this matter and reviewed a multitude of evidence in arriving at their decision," Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt previously said in the statement.
Mike Randall covers breaking news for the Poughkeepsie Journal, the Times Herald-Record and The Journal News. Reach him at mrandall@tgannett.com on on Twitter @mikerandall845.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Fishkill man shot by police pleads guilty to weapons charge
