Elmsford Man Sentenced in Shooting of Retired Greenburgh Cop

ELMSFORD, NY — An Elmsford man was sentenced Wednesday in the shooting of a retired Greenburgh police officer.

Westchester County District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. said Taqiy Walton, 35, of Sears Avenue, was sentenced to 14 years in state prison.

Walton pleaded guilty to the following:

• First-degree assault, felony
• First-degree attempted assault, felony
• Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, felony

Scarpino said retired police officer Peter Schmidt was mowing his lawn around 3:45 p.m July 13, 2015, when he saw a car in the driveway of a home across the street which he knew to be vacant.

He and his son, a current Greenburgh officer, went over to investigate.

Two men, one of whom was Walton, came out of the house and Schmidt and his son asked why they were there.

Walton and the other man became belligerent toward Schmidt and his son, police said.

Schmidt and his son turned to leave and Walton fired a semi-automatic pistol toward them, striking Schmidt once in the torso and once in the arm.

Walton and the other man drove away, but Schmidt’s son was able to write down the license plate of the vehicle

Walton and the co-defendent were taken into custody by Yonker Police on the Sprain Brook Parkway in Yonkers.

A canine officer located the weapon the next day not far from where they were arrested.

The co-defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary, a felony, June 27, 2016, and was sentenced to three and a half years in state prison Jan. 5, 2017.

Walton faces a maximum of 25 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 11, 2017.

Photo caption: Taqiy Walton. Photo credit: Westchester County District Attorney.