Retired Officer Cecil Ramsay Shoots Other Officer then Himself

A retired New York City police officer shot an off-duty officer he suspected was having an affair with his police officer wife, then killed himself in the driveway of his suburban home, authorities said Saturday. Cecil Ramsay confronted his wife and a friend, both off-duty New York Police Department officers, when the pair arrived at the family's home Saturday morning, Suffolk County police said.

He accused Officer Edwin Chittick "of seeing his wife," Dady Belfort, said Suffolk County police Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick.

"It's our understanding that that is not the case. They're just acquaintances," Fitzpatrick said.

Chittick told Ramsay "in effect, 'I'm not here to have an argument with you,' and walks out," getting into Belfort's sport utility vehicle with her, Fitzpatrick said. Ramsay fired at least three times at the departing SUV, hitting Chittick in the hand.

He then put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger in front of several construction workers doing work on his home, Fitzpatrick said. Other family members had also been at the home with him at the time of his wife's arrival, police said.

Chestean Howard said he called 911 after hearing several gunshots in the neighborhood, then looked out his window.

"He wasn't moving," Howard told Newsday Saturday. "I thought, 'That's it. He's dead.'"

Belfort, who was not injured, drove a short distance to a hospital emergency room, where Chittick was treated for wounds that were not life-threatening.

The SUV - its front passenger-side window shattered and driver and passenger seats smeared with blood - was on the grounds of the hospital for several hours Saturday.

Outside the home about 40 miles east of New York City, a body covered by a yellow tarp lay in the driveway for hours Saturday morning under a steady rain before it was removed on a gurney.

Ramsay, 51, had been ill with heart problems and was awaiting a heart transplant, Fitzpatrick said.

A 2007 article about Belfort in the Congressional Record said she has been an officer since 1989 and was promoted to detective in 2005. She was pursuing a master's degree in criminal justice at the time and has three children with Ramsay, according to the profile.

New York City police wouldn't comment on the shootings or give information about the officers, referring all questions to Long Island authorities.