Sadly, one of the officers lost their life. The surviving officer, Robert Crosson, reported that the assailants were two young light-skinned black men in their twenties.
NYPD detective Louis N. Scarcella, who was later accused of falsifying evidence, arrested 14-year-old Bunn and 17-year-old Rosean Hargrave based on an anonymous tip, even though neither teen matched the physical descriptions given by Crosson. Surprisingly, Crosson later identified the two as the shooters.
In November 1992, a jury convicted both teens of second-degree murder. John Bunn was paroled in 2006 for good behavior, but still fought to clear his conviction.
In 2013, evidence of extensive misconduct by Detective Scarcella came to light, triggering a number of motions for retrial from defendants previously accused by him of crimes.
In May 2018, the charges against Hargrave and Bunn were dropped. Subsequently, Bunn filed a lawsuit alleging "malicious prosecution, denial of due process, and civil rights conspiracy," leading to a city settlement of $5.9 million in 2020.
The image below shows John showing gratitude to the judge that found him innocent.
