Gidon Busch was a very intelligent and motivated young man. He earned high grades in college and made the dean's list. His mom described him as very warm and compassionate. She said he used to feed the homeless on the streets of Jerusalem when they vacationed in Israel. His father described him as a kind and sweet boy who used to love dogs and cats and was loved by friends and neighbors. Gidon sang, played the piano and the guitar and wrote poetry. He received academic honors and 14 medical schools wanted to grab him because he scored brilliantly on the MCAT, a test required for admission into medical school. He later scored among the top 10% in the country on his medical school board exams. How could such a talented and kind-hearted young man be portrayed by New York City's mayor, police commissioner and media as a berserk madman who put the police in danger and deserved to be shot dead?
In his third year of medical school Gidon developed a kidney disease that doctors said was terminal. There were no cures for this disease at that time. He went on a worldwide search for a cure anyway. He found himself in Israel where he became mentally ill. He had bipolar disorder. He returned to the U.S. for treatment. Somehow, he was able to return to college and graduate, move to Boro Park, Brooklyn and start a business. His father said there were signs he was not doing well emotionally ever since his return to New York despite his efforts to lead a normal life.
One evening Gidon Busch was praying to God in the basement of his home, wearing black pants and a white collared shirt with a prayer shawl wrapped about his shoulders and a Jewish prayer box called tefilin strapped to his arm and his head. He also held a small, light religious hobby-hammer in his hand very unlike larger, much heavier hammers used to drive in nails. According to his mother, Gidon was called outside by the police. He opened the door and was taken by surprise by a police officer who sprayed his wide eyes with pepper spray. Pepper spray causes temporary blindness, severe burning pain and difficulty breathing and lasts 30-45 minutes.
Grasping the handrail for support and panicked he lurched up the stairs and stumbled into a wall near the driveway. The police officers formed an arc around him at least five feet away and crouched in a shooting posture. Gidon was screaming from the pain and blindness with his small hammer waving in the air. One shot was fired. There was silence then volleys of bullets were fired at the skinny young man. Gidon died of multiple gunshot wounds, which penetrated his arms, legs, heart, lungs, liver and intestines. His body was admitted to the hospital as Jon Doe homeless even though he carried I.D. and his mother's car registration.
On August 30, 2001, exactly two years after the incident I attended a memorial for Gidon organized by his mother demanding justice. Mayoral candidate and Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, Assemblyman Dov Hikind, former New York Civil Liberties Union director Norman Siegel and Jewish community leaders were present and spoke out against police use of excessive force. Congressman Jerrold Nadler was there in spirit due to prior commitments. No one in attendance believed Gidon Busch was at fault for his own murder despite the propaganda of the Mayor and Police Commissioner who said on the day of the murder that the police opened fire as Gidon was beating a fallen police sergeant with his hammer, placing the sergeant's life in jeopardy. Even though witnesses told a different tale, there was no indictment of the police officers. "It is unbelievable how far the bureaucracy will go to protect police officers," said Gidon's brother.
"The New York City Police Department, which receives 38,000 calls annually relating to emotionally disturbed persons, must ensure that its officers get the proper and ongoing sensitivity and procedural training to handle such situations. Cadets at the Police Academy receive only 16 hours of training to prepare them for handling calls related to emotionally disturbed people," said Mr. Ferrer who compared the shooting of Gidon Busch to the shootings of Amadou Diallo and Patrick Dorismond
"When tragedies like this happen, we go on," said Assemblyman Hikind, "but the family is affected forever."