The two brothers who brawled with an off-duty NYPD cop during a road rage-fueled clash — which ended with the officer shot in the leg — have been charged over the wild, caught-on-camera encounter, police said Thursday.
Shawn Rivera, 27, and Edwin Rivera, 32, were slapped with several counts of assault in connection to the Wednesday fight with Officer Christopher Campos, assigned to the 81st Precinct in northern Brooklyn, authorities and sources said.
The younger brother also faces a strangulation rap following the broad-daylight mayhem at Queens Boulevard and 70th Street in Elmhurst, cops said.
The fracas unfolded around 12:50 p.m. when Campos – who was driving in his personal vehicle – clashed with Edwin, whose white minivan was blocking the roadway, NYPD Chief of Detectives Jeffrey Maddrey told reporters Wednesday.
Campos was able to get around the minivan and continued on his way until both drivers met up again, Maddrey said at a news briefing.
The two exchanged words a second time — at which point Shawn allegedly ran up behind the cop’s car and smashed the window, authorities said.
“At that point, the off-duty [officer] exited his vehicle, identified himself as a police officer and drew his firearm on the two males and announced that the male was under arrest for breaking his window,” Maddrey said.
Chaotic video obtained by The Post captures the officer holding the brothers at gunpoint as he commands, “Get on the ground, bro! I’m a police officer.”
He can then be heard on the phone calling for help as one of the men taunts him, “Wave the gun at me,” and the other repeats, “Shoot me! Shoot the f–king gun!”
“You thought you was tough!” Shawn yells, according to the footage. “I’m tougher than you. You tried to run me over!…That’s why I hit that s–t!”
Maddrey said that Campos re-holstered his weapon and was trying to hold one of the men as he waited for cops to arrive, when the two “got into a struggle.”
During the tussle, the other man “comes from behind the officer, puts him in a chokehold and they start both fighting the officer,” Maddrey continued.
“They’re both punching the officer. They’re beating on the officer. At one point, they push them up onto a [car]. They’re trying to unholster his weapon and take the weapon from him,” Maddrey said.
The video captures Shawn yelling “I didn’t do nothing! I didn’t do s–t!” during the skirmish, adding, “You’re not going to threaten me with a gun.”
Campos grabbed his gun while “trying to retain the weapon,” and all three men then went “down to the ground,” Maddrey told reporters.
The brothers were “on top of our officer continuing to punch him and kick him — at which point a round is discharged from the [officer’s] weapon,” the chief said.
That’s when the footage shows Edwin – who was shot in the hand – running off, leaving Shawn to grapple with Campos in the street.
As the two continued to struggle, a second shot went off, striking the off-duty cop in the left thigh, Maddrey said. That gunshot is not captured in the footage.
“At this point the male is on top of our officer and our officer is lying motionless,” the chief said.
The footage shows the moment cops arrive, as Shawn can be heard crying, “He shot my brother!” before being handcuffed.
Cops later busted Edwin at a local hospital, where he had walked in on his own, authorities said.
Campos was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center and will survive.
“I had an opportunity to visit our officer,” Maddrey said Wednesday. “He’s in good spirits.”
In addition to assault and strangulation, Shawn was also charged with two counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon, as well as a count each of criminal mischief, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest, cops said.
Edwin, in addition to the assault raps, faces two counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon and a count of obstruction of governmental administration, police said.
Both of their arraignments were pending in Queens Criminal Court Thursday.
Edwin has four prior arrests, and Shawn has two, police said.
They were busted together in late June of 2019 on felony assault charges, sources said. But that case has been sealed and the Brooklyn DA’s office did not have any information Wednesday.
“We’re thankful that our brother is going to recover, but this incident highlights the dangerous environment on our streets, not just for police officers but for all New Yorkers,” Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said in a statement Wednesday.
“These two repeat offenders didn’t think twice about attacking a cop and trying to grab his gun. What will happen if our dysfunctional justice system spits them back out onto the streets again?”
