New York Professor Accuses Wounded Cops of Murder for Fatally Shooting Man Who Stabbed Them

A professor from New York has come under fire for accusing two Suffolk County police officers of murder after they fatally shot a suspect who attacked them with a knife, leaving them both with severe injuries.

“This was a wellness check — why didn’t they de-escalate the situation?” Stony Brook University Associate Professor Dr. Anna Hayward said in an Instagram comment referencing a fatal police shooting that occurred December 28, the New York Post reported. The comment was made under a post from the Stony Brook Medicine page that was providing an update on the two wounded police officers’ health conditions.

Hayward then posted an additional remark that appeared to accuse the two cops of murdering the suspect.

“Why did a man have to die? What about the man they murdered?” she said in a comment that has since been deleted from Instagram, along with the first one.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, officers responded to a report of a man who was threatening those around him with a fire extinguisher on Birchwood Road in Medford.

When the officers approached the room where the suspect was, the suspect pulled out a “Rambo knife” and attacked them, Suffolk County police commissioner Rodney L. Harrison said at a press conference the day after the incident.

One officer was stabbed in the clavicle and in the left part of his groin. Harrison noted that a second officer was stabbed in the chest, where the blade pierced his vest and went into his rib.

At some point during the altercation, one of the officers was able to pull out his gun and fatally shoot the suspect.

The two officers were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital, where they were treated for serious injuries. The first officer–who was stabbed in the clavicle and groin–was placed on life support but is currently in good condition and remains in the hospital, Newsday reported, while the second has recovered well from his injuries.

A third officer was also treated at the hospital for tinnitus but was released later the night of the incident.

The Suffolk County Police Department noted that the deceased suspect, identified as Enrique Lopez, had served two years in prison for assaulting a cop in 2011.

During the press conference, Harrison noted that the shooting was “justified.”

“You have an individual who lunges at police officers, within a close proximity. He actually committed the act of stabbing the officers,” the police chief said. “It doesn’t seem like the officers had any other action but to use their weapons, to stop the force, to stop anybody else from being stabbed.”

Following the circulation of Hayward’s comments referring to the officers as murderers, the professor was criticized for her “anti-police” rhetoric.

“While a Suffolk County Police Officer fights for his life after being stabbed in the neck an anti-police Professor slanderously referred to him and his partner as murderers,” Lou Civello, vice president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, told the Post.

“Stony Brook University must denounce Dr. Hayward’s hateful comments and should put an end to the harmful anti-police bias in their program,” Civello added.

Social media users were also unhappy with the professor’s online remarks, many calling for her to be fired.

“Anna Hayward is a disgrace,” commented one user on Instagram.

“What exactly does Professor Hayward teach at the university?? She should be fired for her callous words towards these brave officers,” said another user.

Stony Brook University officials released a statement on Monday night but did not directly condemn Hayward for her remarks.

“The comments made online were from what appears to be a faculty member’s private account that is not affiliated with Stony Brook University,” the university stated.

The university’s statement also praised the officers and the medical staff treating them for their injuries.

You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.