Dinneny
TOWN OF WALLKILL – Police have identified the man who Middletown
officers shot to death Wednesday evening as Richard Dinneny, 53, of Middletown.
They characterized him as the on-again, off-again boyfriend of the woman
whose apartment on Overlook Drive he broke into even though he has an
order of protection against him to stay away from her.
A first anonymous call to 911 came from someone reporting a domestic quarrel and Dinneny himself called afterwards.
State Police Troop F Commander Major Joseph Tripodo said on Thursday that Dinneny refused to drop his weapon, which turned out to be a pellet gun, when he went outside and was ordered to do so repeatedly by Middletown officers. That’s when two officers with more than 10 years on the job each, opened fire and shot him several times. He died after being rushed to Orange Regional Medical Center.
Tripodo would not say the shooting was “suicide by cop,” but said they were exploring that theory.
“He stated that essentially he wanted to die, that he had a gun and he was going to shoot any police officers that were in there. He also threatened to shoot the female companion that he had with him in that apartment at that time,” Tripodo said.
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler and the State Police are handling the criminal investigation with full objectivity and transparency. He pointed to a 19-month old police involved shooting policy he implemented that sets forth the guidelines in cases like this.
The Middletown Police Department will investigate only the administrative
side of the shooting, said Chief Ramon Bethencourt. They have been placed
on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigations.
Hoovler said when the grand jury has concluded its duties and his office has written its report, he will make the entire investigation public.
