Corey Fisher, NYPD detective from Long Island who was shot in Queens, released from hospital

Scores of NYPD officers and other well-wishers applauded Monday as a narcotics detective from Long Island left a hospital after being accidentally shot in Queens by colleagues as they attempted to stop a carjacking.

Det. Corey Fisher shook hands with his partner and waved to the crowd as he sat up on a gurney and was pushed out of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and loaded into an NYPD ambulance. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch hugged Fisher’s pregnant wife and other family members before they left the hospital in a black cargo van.

The 12-year veteran, assigned to the Queens south narcotics command, was hit in the leg and hand by friendly fire on Friday as he and his partner attempted to stop the carjacking of an Uber driver off the Whitestone Expressway, according to the NYPD.

'Extremely lucky'

"He is extremely lucky," Dr. Katherine McKenzie, the hospital’s trauma medical director and surgeon, told reporters after Fisher and his family left the hospital.

"This could have been a lot worse than it was," McKenzie added. "Millimeters, centimeters all count here. Any shift in any direction can be the difference."

Fisher sustained gunshot wounds to the left tibia — the main bone between the knee and ankle — as well as the right hand and wrist, McKenzie said. The officer’s prognosis is "good," she added, but his recovery could take weeks or months.

McKenzie said it’s too early to tell when Fisher might be able to return to work.

Scott Munro, president of the NYPD Detectives' Endowment Association, said he visited Fisher in the hospital Monday morning.

"It's a good feeling now, a detective is going home today," Munro said. "He is in good spirits. I was just up there with him and his family. He's got his little son up there. His wife is pregnant right now ... it's a positive thing that he is going home."

Lengthy criminal complaint

Kevin Dubuisson, 28, of Brooklyn, the man police said attempted to carjack the Uber driver, pleaded not guilty to a 16-count criminal complaint that included charges of felony robbery and assault on a police officer, grand larceny and menacing, authorities said. Queens County Judge Joanne B. Watters ordered Dubuisson to be held without bail following Sunday's arraignment.

He was released from prison in March and on parole for robbery. On Thursday, Dubuisson was arrested on a theft of service charge in Manhattan and released with a desk appearance ticket, officials said.

On Friday, Fisher was working plain clothes in an unmarked Chrysler Pacifica with his partner when they came upon Dubuisson running with what appeared to be a crowbar and getting into a stolen Toyota Highlander, which he backed into a second vehicle, injuring an elderly woman and her daughter, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

Fisher pursued Dubuisson, placing his vehicle in front of the Toyota, which crashed into the Pacifica, according to prosecutors. The detective was shot moments later by three arriving uniformed officers after he and his partner exited the Pacifica with their guns drawn and ordered Dubuisson to "stop the vehicle," according to a news release from Katz's office. The shooting was captured on police body cameras and is being reviewed, NYPD officials said.

Dubuisson’s alleged crime spree started about 8:40 a.m. when he walked into the parking lot of a Mobil gas station on Parsons Boulevard and entered a Hyundai Santa Fe with its engine running, prosecutors said. He fled after a struggle with a gas station employee who attempted to remove the keys from the vehicle, the district attorney’s office said.

Death threat

A second alleged victim told investigators Dubuisson then threatened to kill her after she witnessed the incident at the gas station, putting his fist in his waistband and "simulating grabbing what appeared to be a firearm," according to the news release.

Dubuisson then allegedly approached the owner of the Toyota Highlander at 8:50 a.m. at the intersection of 22nd Road and Whitestone Expressway Service Road, holding what appeared to be a metal hook to the driver’s head while telling him "give me the car," the district attorney’s office said. The man ran away and a chase ensued leading back to the vehicle, where Fisher first spotted Dubuisson.

Tisch previously said Dubuisson has a lengthy criminal record with 10 arrests and four felony convictions, including several knifepoint robberies and assaults on police officers.

"No detective, no police officer, should be dealing with this, with these people who are out on the street, arrested over 20 times, major felonies, and this is what is going on," said Munro, who called on Albany lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul to pass stiffer laws for repeat, violent offenders.

Newsday's Grant Parpan contributed to this story.