Posted on March 18, 2013

‘Wanted’ Poster for Two Cops Who Shot Kimani Gray Posted to Instagram

Larry Celona and Selim Algar, New York Post, March 18, 2013

A mock-up of a “Wanted’’ poster placed on Instagram sickeningly calls for the murders of the two NYPD cops who shot and killed Brooklyn teen Kimani Gray.

The posting on the online photo-sharing Web site features pictures of Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova above the caption, “50z want these pigs heads.”

A source said that the “50z” is a gang subset.

Using the handle “safjcrossfit,” the poster encourages the cops’ would-be killers to “empty the clip on umm.”

Worried about the officers’ safety, the NYPD has provided both men with police radios for them to take home, in case they encounter any trouble, sources said.

The department also has beefed up patrols in the two cops’ neighborhoods, sources said.

Police sources said investigators are working to identify the person who designed and put up the image and are tracking its circulation.

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Gray was shot seven times — including three times in the back — on the night of March 9 after the plainclothes officers said he pointed a gun at them when they instructed him to freeze during a street stop.

The deadly confrontation sparked days of violent unrest in the East Flatbush neighborhood where it occurred.

Protesters clashed with cops, pelting them with rocks and bottles, and trashed neighborhood stores as they decried Gray’s killing.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has called the killing a justified shooting and said Gray’s .38-caliber pistol was recovered at the scene.

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Wanted