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NYPD: Officer Dies After Push Down Cement Stairs

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A police officer responding to an early morning domestic violence call in Brooklyn was killed after he was shoved over a railing by a suspect and fell nine feet down a cement stairwell, landing on his head and breaking his neck.

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Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Officer Alain Schaberger was among those at the Boerum Hill scene around 4:20 a.m. Sunday. Police were attempting to take a 40-year-old George Villanueva, who had a history of domestic violence arrests, into custody when he began to resist.

"The 48-year-old female caller told police that her boyfriend was threatening to kill her," Kelly said.

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Kelly said the suspect had been shackled on one hand when he used both hands to push Schaberger over the railing. The officer fell down a stairwell which leads to the basement.

"This is the front door, and right there is steps going down to the basement," neighbor Jamilet Martinez told CBS 2's Derricke Dennis. "If someone were to fall over, they would fall straight down. It's pretty deep."

"He had a gash on the left side of his head. His neck was broken," Kelly said.

He was taken to Lutheran Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

"Alain Schaberger gave his life trying to save another," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.

Villanueva was charged with first-degree murder of a police officer among other charges.

Schaberger was a 10-year veteran with the department.

(TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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