This was the scene at the Empire State Building this morning, where sources say police shot eight people while trying to takeout gunman Jeffery Johnson.

Eleven people were shot at the Empire State Building this morning, the majority of whom were shot by police, sources now tell the Voice.

Mayor Mike Bloomberg confirmed at a press conference this morning that there's a chance some of the victims were accidentally shot by police who were trying to take out the initial gunman, 53-year-old Jeffery Johnson. We're told eight of those wounded were shot by police, who were returning fire at Johnson, who pointed a 45-caliber handgun at officers and witnesses say fired at least one round. However, it's unclear whether he actually fired the weapon.

More »

NYPD

This is the bullet-proof vest that likely saved the life of NYPD Officer Brian Groves early this morning.

Bad news for whoever shot an NYPD officer early this morning: in addition to the fact that every cop in town is looking for you right now, there's currently a $10,000 reward for your arrest.

According to police, about 3:40 a.m. today, Officer Brian Groves and his partner, Officer Erick Corniel, were conducting "vertical patrol" at the Seward Public Housing Development at 64-68 Essex Street in Manhattan when Groves opened a door in a stairwell and stumbled upon a man holding a silver revolver.

"Gun," Groves yelled to alert Corniel -- who was at the opposite stairwell -- about the weapon.

The suspect then started running -- Groves gave chase as the gunman darted down four flights of stairs.

More »

If you sell alcohol to a minor, you can get arrested.

And if you do not sell alcohol to a minor, you can apparently also get arrested.

No, really.

The Daily News tells the story of Ismael Duran, a father of three who immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic three years ago. Duran works at the Giselle Mini Mart in Brownsville. When 18-year-old undercover cop Anthony Harriott tried to buy Smirnoff Ice, Duran checked his I.D. and refused, as Harriott is a minor.

More »

Bad news if you don't like getting dehumanized: The U.S. Supreme Court just ruled 5-4 to OK strip searches for any offense.

What this means: if you get booked for an offense as minor as an unpaid parking ticket, you might have to bare all for corrections officers before being admitted to jail.

Yep, you read that right. Something as minor as an unpaid parking ticket can require that you suffer an immense indignity -- including cavity searches -- without having been convicted of any crime.

And jail officials don't even have to suspect that you're carrying contraband.

More »

The Post reports this morning on William Bratton, a former NYPD commissioner who apparently has a permit that lets him park anywhere in the city. For free!

So what's up? Bratton was spotted Wednesday parking his Lexus SUV in a "no standing zone" for an hour, and is said to have had a permit "for official use only...emblazoned with two NYPD shields and expires Feb. 1, 2013." Government officials have since told the paper these placards are only supposed to be "for official use" which would disqualify someone like Bratton, who no longer works for the City. Some NYPD top brass counter that "former police commissioners are entitled to placards."

Runnin' Scared reached out to the NYPD for clarification. The tabloid, true to Post form, has already called Bratton both a "fishy commishy" and a "perk jerk." Of course, the Post's arsenal of jeux de mots is never ending. Some predictions for the paper's follow-up?

More »

A top honcho at Morgan Stanley, William Bryan Jennings, has been charged with stabbing a Middle Eastern cabbie with a pen knife and using racial intimidation, cops say.

The banking behemoth says that the Americas co-head of fixed income and capital markets has since been put on leave, according to the New York Times.

Here's what supposedly went down: On Dec. 22., Jennings took a cab from a New York charity gala to his $3.6 million Darien, Conn. home. When he got there, he refused to pay the $200 fare, the cabbie claims. He's also said to have become abusive and started using racial slurs.

More »

Recall Ceferino "Papo" Perez? He's that humble East Harlem coke king who Photoshopped his pic on top of Al Pacino's photo in a Scarface movie poster -- and displayed the masterpiece on his nightstand(!)

Perez, 45, pleaded guilty this month to mastermining a massive cocaine ring, which got busted in June. But today, Seferino got a 20-years-to-life prison sentence, according to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. Twenty one of his cronies have also been sentenced.

The op was said to include both a $650,000 delivery biz and a $1.1 mil wholesale subsidiary that distributed blow and crack-cocaine to dealers throughout the city for 25 years.

More »

Three scumbags busted into a house at 88-25 75th Street on Saturday morning, brandishing a black revolver before punching the two residents and stealing their property, cops say.

The two victims had minor injuries.

The suspects then fled the Jamaica, Queens household in a 2010 or 2011 black GMC Acadia.

More »

A word of advice: if a stranger approaches you, flashes a "badge," starts a conversation about counterfeit money -- and tries to go back to your house with you -- you should probably be a little suspicious. He probably is not a police officer, and he probably is not very nice, either.

Alas, cops say that this guy -- a suspected scumbag by the name of Larry Thomas -- struck up a convo with an elderly man about phony dough and went back to his house. When he was in the home, he showed the victim several pictures of a fake fugitive.

Then, the supposed perp asked the victim and his daughter if they had any money in the house because "it might be counterfeit."

More »

Cops are on the lookout for a man wearing a Scarface jacket (no, really), and say that he and another man recently robbed a Bronx newsstand at gunpoint.

Around 7:15 p.m. on Jan. 6, the two suspected perps entered the shop at 1936 Crotona Avenue, and pulled out black handguns. The suspects, pictured here, took cash from the register and scratch-off lotto tickets, law enforcement officials say. They fled on foot.

More »