The State Troopers PBA is thankful no Troopers or other responding law enforcement officers were injured when a gunman began shooting during a traffic stop in East Greenbush (Rensselaer County) over the weekend. The suspect was shot by officers and is in critical condition at Albany Medical Center Hospital. Below is an article about the incident from the Times Union newspaper of Albany, and further below that is a link to video taken by a passerby of the incident, which was featured on the CNN web site.

Shots, blood and a puzzle

Cab company owner says man was quiet along the ride that ended in gunfire

By SCOTT WALDMAN, Staff writer

EAST GREENBUSH — The Connecticut man said little as he rode in a cab to Albany.

But when the taxi was pulled over for speeding by a state trooper near East Greenbush, the man became agitated and pulled out an AK-47, said Marco Henry, owner of the Yellow Cab Co. of Hartford, on Sunday.

Within moments, gunfire echoed along the rural stretch of Interstate 90 as the passenger engaged in a shootout with State Police.

The passenger, identified by State Police as 22-year-old Darryl O. Brown of Hartford, clung to life Sunday at Albany Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.

Brown was shot multiple times by police at about noon on Saturday after he fired at a state trooper who stopped the cab, State Police said.

The cabdriver, who was uninjured, returned to Hartford on Sunday, Henry said.

Henry said the driver, whom he did not wish to identify, was still rattled after his near-miss with death.

"He’s shook up, but OK," Henry said.

Henry provided an account of the moments inside the cab before the gunbattle that shut down a stretch of I-90 for eight hours and caused drivers on the highway to abandon their cars as they ran from the terror:

Brown was picked up in Hartford and requested to be taken to Albany. He was a quiet passenger and didn’t give any indication to the cabdriver that anything was wrong. He paid by credit card and ran up a bill that topped $300.

When a state trooper attempted to pull over the cab for speeding, Brown ordered him to keep driving. The cabdriver refused, and stopped the car. Brown then pulled out the assault rifle, and the driver jumped out of the cab and ran toward the police car.

Brown started shooting at them as cars whizzed by. Police quickly shut down the highway and closed in. Highway traffic was stopped both ways, from about Exit 9 to Exit 10, shortly after the incident.

The Southern Rensselaer County SWAT team was training nearby and responded immediately to the incident.

A cellphone video from a passing motorist shows Brown huddled next to the cab, dressed in what appears to be a white jumpsuit, firing on a swarm of heavily armed police wearing bulletproof gear with what authorities said was an assault rifle. Many gunshots can be heard in the video.

Helicopters and law enforcement agents closed in on the scene and encircled the cab after the shooting stopped.

No one else was injured in the incident, though the taxi, two State Police vehicles and two civilian vehicles were struck by bullets.

The interstate remained closed until 8:10 p.m. Saturday so law enforcement officials could gather evidence and process the crime scene.

Drivers said they heard multiple shots being fired for more than a half hour. Some backed up their vehicles to escape, while others drove over the frozen median and a few left their cars and ran away.

State Police requested that anyone who witnessed the incident call Troop G headquarters in Loudonville at 783-3211.