NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — A Brooklyn man on Wednesday pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges in connection with the death of NYPD Det. Brian Simonsen.
Christopher Ransom, 30, formerly of St. John’s Place, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and robbery in connection to the incident. He also pleaded guilty to a separate robbery.
In February 2019, Ransom entered a T-Mobile store in Richmond Hill “brandishing a black pistol,” according to prosecutors.
Authorities at the time said Ransom proceeded to take two employees in the store to a back room at gunpoint and was inside the room when police were called to the scene.
Det. Simonsen, 42, and his sergeant, Matthew Gorman, were working an unrelated case in the area when they received the call about the robbery.
Related
The two arrived at the store along with a swath of other police officers, who saw a man “fitting the description of the suspect emerge from the back pointing at them what appeared to be a handgun.”
Authorities said Ransom advanced toward officers with the pistol in his hand and they fired at him.
While Ransom’s weapon was later found to be fake, prosecutors said it appeared real and officers could not see the difference from where they were positioned.
A total of 42 shots were then fired within 11 seconds between the officers at the scene.
Simonsen was struck by friendly fire and transported to Jamaica Medical Center, where he later died of his injuries.
Related
Ransom was also injured and transported to Booth Memorial Hospital, where he recovered before being taken into custody.
“The defendant set in motion a terrible chain of events that began with a robbery and ended in a spray of bullets when Ransom pointed what appeared to be a deadly firearm toward police officers,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “The defendant was repeatedly told to lower his weapon but did not do so. The heartbreaking result was the loss of Detective Simonsen’s life and Sergeant Matthew Gorman being shot in the leg. We express our condolences once again to Detective Simonsen’s family and hope today brings them a measure of closure.”
Simonsen was a 19-year veteran of the NYPD and was a married father of two.
At his funeral, friends told WCBS 880 that they had affectionately called him “Smiles” since they were in high school.
Related
“I think Smiles is like— he should have been the mayor. He was the glue and he just loved everyone, he was friends with everyone,” long-time friend Melissa Weir said. “He never had bad blood with anyone, he never had a beef with anybody, he was just a stand-up good guy, he really did care about everybody and his friends.”
Based on the negotiated plea, Ransom is expected to be sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison on Nov. 17.