Ransom says he sought ‘suicide by cop’
Suspect in detective’s Rich. Hill friendly fi re death claims he wanted cops to fi re on him
BY REUVEN BLAU, THE CITY
This story was originally
published on April 5, 2019
by THE CITY.
Christopher Ransom was
lying in a hospital bed when a
nurse delivered the bad news
with a whisper in his ear.
One of the eight cops he
allegedly charged while
masked and waving a fake
gun on a Queens street two
days earlier was killed by
friendly fire, the nurse told
him.
And now Ransom was
going to be charged with
murder in the Feb. 12 death of
Det. Brian Simonsen outside
a Richmond Hill T-Mobile
store.
In a recent phone interview
with THE CITY, Ransom, 27,
said he was trying to commit
“suicide by cop” when he
allegedly tried to rob the
cellphone shop.
“I just wanted to end my
life,” Ransom said. “I didn’t
want to go to jail. I promised
myself I wouldn’t go back.”
He described a long
struggle with mental illness
and a string of non-violent
crimes that included barging
into a Brooklyn police
precinct wearing a “Super
Police” badge.
“I had no intention to hurt
anyone,” Ransom recalled
during a call from Bellevue
Hospital. “I want to tell the
Simonsen family how sorry
I am.”
Detectives’ Endowment
Association President
Michael Palladino dismissed
Ransom’s apology. “‘Sorry’
doesn’t quite cut it,” he said.
“It’s time for Mr. Ransom to
take responsibility. He has
engaged in a lifetime of crime
and bizarre behavior.”
Ransom and his alleged
accomplice, Jagger Freeman,
should never have been on the
streets, Palladino said, noting
their criminal histories:
“Our detective would be alive
today if these individuals
were where they should have
been – in prison.”
Fake Pistol Leads to
Real Gunfire
Police who responded
to the 6 p.m. robbery call
said Ransom waved the fake
black Colt pistol at officers
and jerked it back as if
experiencing kickback after
firing shots.
“You wouldn’t believe how
real it looked,” said a police
source who saw a video of the
incident.
Seven cops fired 42 shots
in 11 seconds, according to
the NYPD.
Simonsen, 42, was fatally
struck in the chest by a
colleague’s bullet, according
to authorities. His partner,
Sgt. Matthew Gorman, was
shot in the hip, also by socalled
friendly fire.
Ransom, of Brooklyn, was
hit eight times, including in
one testicle, which had to be
removed, he said.
During the phone call,
which was arranged by
another inmate in the
hospital, Ransom told THE
CITY he was adopted as an
infant and grew up in Crown
Heights with four brothers.
Ransom said his biological
Christopher Ransom faces
murder charges in the friendly
fire death of Detective
Brian Simonsen of the 102nd
Precinct Detective Squad.
Photo courtesy of NYPD
mother died when he was
10. He said he never met his
father.
At one point, Ransom said,
he was briefly hospitalized
in the Kings County “psych
ward” when he was about 17.
He described a lifelong battle
with mental illness, but didn’t
know his diagnosis.
“I was going to counseling
on and off since I was a child,”
he said.
His Legal Aid lawyer and
family declined to comment,
citing the ongoing criminal
case.
His account to THE CITY
also differed from what he
later told the Daily News,
which was that the robbery
was a prank gone awry.
Police had arrested
him 25 times over the past
nine years, records show.
The cases ranged from
impersonating a police officer
to shoplifting, records show.
None of the charges involved
a violent crime or the use of a
deadly weapon, according to
reports.
A History of
Erratic Behavior
Some of the cases indicate
a level of disconnect from
reality.
In 2012, he pretended to be
a college intern to spend time
with a Brooklyn judge, and
was convicted of criminal
trespassing.
Four years later, he was
busted with bogus police
attire, including a “Super
Police” badge, as he tried
to enter staff areas inside
the 77th Precinct in Crown
Heights. He was jailed for
20 days after being convicted
of impersonating a police
officer.
Not all his bizarre
behavior resulted in criminal
charges.
In 2016, Ransom posted
a video on YouTube of
himself walking into a
Brooklyn precinct wearing
only underwear and a cape,
and thanking officers for
their service.
His criminal record made
it had for him to find work, he
said.
Ransom recalled taking
a job assisting people with
disabilities and one as a shift
supervisor at a homeless
shelter. He says he got booted
from the shelter gig after
just a few weeks, when a
supervisor discovered he lied
about his work experience on
his resume.
The lack of work made
it hard to pay basic bills
and forced him to “bounce
around” between several
apartments where he rented
rooms, he said.
“I needed money,” he
said, referring to the alleged
robbery.
Still, he dreamed of
starting his own film
production company and said
he was one semester away
from graduating college with
a degree in communications.
He now faces felony
murder, robbery, assault and
menacing charges. Police
say Freeman, 25, acted as
his lookout; he also has been
charged with felony murder.
Canada and the United
Kingdom have banned
similar statutes, and multiple
states, including Hawaii and
Kentucky, have eliminated
the charge. Critics contend
the charge unfairly punishes
criminal accomplices.
In New York and elsewhere,
people can be charged with
murder even when they don’t
wield a weapon. They are
considered responsible if the
death occurs while they are
committing another serious
crime.
Most recently, California
lawmakers voted to limit
the charge by exempting
people who had little to do
with the original crime and
no intent to kill. That law is
being challenged in court.
As for Simonsen,
thousands of friends, family
members and fellow officers
gathered Feb. 20 to say
their final goodbye. He was
remembered as a “cop’s cop”
who always looked out for
others.
“Brian was a true friend
who never wanted anything
in return,” his former
partner, Ricky Water, told the
mourners inside St. Rosalie’s
Catholic Church.
Simonsen is survived by
his wife, Leanne, and mother,
Linda.
In Bellevue Hospital,
Ransom sent a message to
Simonsen’s family: “I wish
it didn’t happen. I pray for
their strength and healing
process.”
This story was originally
published by THE CITY (www.
thecity.nyc), an independent,
nonprofit news organization
dedicated to hard-hitting
reporting that serves the
people of New York.
TIMESLEDGER,14 APR. 12-18, 2019 QNS.COM
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