A menacing Queens bus driver convicted of shooting a rookie NYPD officer after an altercation with another passenger was sentenced Monday to nearly 40 years in prison as a courtroom full of police officers looked on angry.
Shooter Devin Spraggins was convicted last month of attempted murder for shooting Officer Brett Bollera for intervening in a minor fight over a bus seat in Jamaica.
Boller, 22 at the time, was just a few months into his dream job as an NYPD officer when he crossed paths with the armed passenger who shot him in the hip . Officials said Boller was lucky to survive.
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Devin Spraggins at his sentencing in Queens on Monday. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
“A police officer spent over a year undergoing surgery and physical therapy to recover from a shooting, and it was only by a twist of fate that he was not killed” , said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
“With the officer on the ground, this defendant did not attempt to flee. Instead, he aimed his gun and pulled the trigger again. It would have been a cold-blooded execution, had the magazine not fallen from the gun as Spraggins fled the police.
Prosecutors said Spraggins was pestering a passenger for a seat when the driver motioned for Boller and his partner to intercede.
The argument on April 5, 2023, quickly spread from the bus to the street, where Boller chased the suspect near 161st Street and Jamaica Avenue. Spraggins pulled out a gun and shot the officer in the hip during the ensuing struggle, police said.
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Jeff Bachner for the New York Daily News NYPD officers are investigating at 161st Street and Jamaica Ave. after Boller was shot and killed on April 5, 2023. (Jeff Bachner for the New York Daily News)
The bullet shattered Boller’s hip and pierced his femoral artery, according to court documents.
Spraggins tried to shoot Boller again, but there were no more bullets in the gun, officials said.
Boller, who is still on restricted duty, has been promoted to detective.
Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry said the harsh sentence sends a strong message.
“We are grateful to this judge who understands the importance of keeping this attempted cop assassination off the streets and behind bars for a long, long time,” Hendry said in Queens Supreme Court. “He decided to shoot a New York police officer in full uniform. Then he stood over him and tried to murder him. Thank goodness that didn’t happen.
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Det. Brett Boller, center left, with his family outside Queens Supreme Court as PBA President Patrick Hendry speaks after Devin Spraggins’ sentencing Monday. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
Spraggins was acquitted of attempted murder of a second police officer. He was sentenced to 39 years to life in prison for shooting Boller.
Hendry was joined by Boller’s father, New York Police Detective Don Boller, and more than a dozen police officers who filled the courtroom each day of the trial.
Barry Williams / New York Daily News
Police pack the courtroom as Assistant Queens DA Kanella Georgopoulos speaks at Devin Spraggins’ sentencing Monday. (Barry Williams / New York Daily News)
The elder Boller thanked the medical personnel who saved his son’s life and the police officers who showed him their support.
“Members of the 103rd precinct, police officers, sergeants, we didn’t know them,” Boller said. “They arrived that evening and the support they gave us was incredible. They treated us like they had known us forever and he was only there for three months.
