SUFFOLK COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) — A recently promoted Mount Vernon detective is under arrest and is one of 18 people swept up in a gang bust in Suffolk County.
Kyren Braunskill was arrested in Mount Vernon on Thursday. He is accused of conspiring to share illegal weapons with gang members.
Prosecutors say the group is connected to two murders, eight armed robberies and five shootings.
Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney announced a 57-count indictment against 18 alleged gang members on Friday.
The alleged crimes took place from 2021 through 2025, according to the DA, who says Braunskill’s alleged supply of the weapons ended in 2022, before he was an officer.
“The allegation with regard to him goes up into through December of 2022,” Tierney said. “He became a police officer in December 28th of 2022. So all of the alleged conduct in the indictment precedes his appointment as an officer.”
The Mount Vernon Police Department released a statement, saying in part:
“A pre-employment background investigation was conducted in accordance with department procedures, and no findings were returned. Based on the information available at that time, the decision was made to proceed with his employment.”
The 34-year-old Braunskill had just been sworn in as a Mount Vernon police detective last Thursday, at a ceremony where he was glowingly described as “probably one of the brightest young cops.”
He was released with an ankle monitor.
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