Cool-headed cop Herman Yan went into autopilot – and followed his NYPD training to the letter – as he ignored the bullets raining down on him and fired back at the gunmen who had brutally shot his partner twice in the face, police experts said yesterday.
Supercop Yan, bleeding profusely after he was struck by a bullet in the arm and reeling after taking a slug in his bulletproof vest, showed no fear as he faced down the thugs who had gravely wounded his partner, Russel Timoshenko, just seconds before.
Three seconds after Timoshenko fell to the ground, exclusive surveillance footage clearly shows the 26-year-old Yan backing down the street as he fires at the stolen BMW X5 that he and Timoshenko had pulled over on Rogers Avenue just after 2:15 a.m.
With nothing to shelter him from the gunfire, Yan is seen on the tape ducking and weaving, trying to keep his body small so it would not be struck by the fusillade, said several experts who reviewed the video for The Post.
“It’s all about cover and concealment. He had no cover in front of him, so he did everything he could to keep his body a small moving target,” said retired NYPD Detective Mike Charles.
As the perpetrators keep shooting at him, Yan sizes up the situation, and determines that his best move is to get back to the radio car.
All the while, his thoughts are obviously on getting to his partner to try to save his life, said Charles.
Seconds pass before he is seen calmly radioing for assistance – calling in the key details that would help authorities quickly identify two suspects.
The brave officer even refuses to give in to his injuries as he tries to make his way to his partner to check on Timoshenko’s condition.
In one frame, Yan is seen falling to the ground, clutching his bleeding arm – but before his body touches the asphalt, he jumps back to his feet and continues to head toward his partner.
Yan, released from Kings County Hospital yesterday, said of his gravely ill partner, “I believe in miracles.
“I hope he recovers fully. I will recover fully and be back on the street again. I hope the same thing happens to him.”
Yan, his right arm in a sling, added, “I feel fine.”
Asked about the bulletproof vest credited with saving his life, Yan said, “Always put it on.”
Detective Charles, who spent 20 years on the force and now trains police forces overseas, said, “Everything [Yan] did was perfect and absolutely heroic.
“Look at the way he tries to get low [in the footage during the shooting]. This officer has been shot, but he has no thought for his pain. He is thinking of the threat, his partner and calling in for help.”
The brave officer’s actions allowed Timoshenko to be carried into a police car just a minute and a half after he was shot. He was taken to the Kings County Hospital, where he is now fighting for his life.
From the moment the two officers pulled over the SUV, they followed their training to a T, said Charles and other experts.
Timoshenko gets out of the police car in line with trash can, making sure he can quickly duck for cover if someone opens fire.
Both officers put their right hands to their guns and walk toward the vehicle at the same pace in a straight line, the procedure whenever a cop pulls over a car.
But the officers face immediate danger when they arrive at the vehicle and see that the windows are tinted, blocking their view of any potential gunmen in the car.
“One of the most dangerous situations in policing is car stops, but officers become even more vulnerable when it’s 2:30 in the morning and the vehicle has tinted windows,” Charles said.
The video shows that Timoshenko was by the rear quarter panel of the SUV- before he could get a clear view of the gunman – when he’s shot and falls.