Healdsburg High grad Andrew Esquivel's suspected killer fired from NYPD

An off-duty cop arrested after a NYC crash that killed a Healdsburg High graduate over the weekend has been fired.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK - An off-duty New York City police officer arrested on manslaughter and driving-while-intoxicated charges after a crash that killed a Healdsburg High School graduate has been fired.

Police Commissioner William Bratton announced the termination of Nicholas Batka on Wednesday.

Batka previously had been suspended. His attorney hasn't returned a phone call seeking comment on the termination.

The SUV crash early Saturday in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood killed 21-year-old pedestrian Andrew Esquivel, a 2013 graduate of Healdsburg High, and seriously injured three of his friends.

Bratton says two other off-duty officers who were with Batka have been stripped of their guns and shields while an investigation continues.

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