NYC eviction likely leads to suicide

Marshal George Essock Jr. knocked on an apartment door at 305 E. 40 St. at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, and the resident asked for a few minutes to get dressed, a spokesman for NYC Marshals told the New York Daily News, adding that this was the first eviction attempt at the address.

“[The marshal] said a few minutes later, there was a loud noise. He didn’t know what it was,” spokesman Michael Woloz was quoted in the Daily News report, which claimed that when Essock drilled through the door, he found the resident, who has not been named, dead from an apparent gunshot wound to the head.

“Everything was done as it should have been,” Woloz said to the Daily News. “This is not the first time something like this has happened. …Given the volume [marshals] deal with, the laws of chance sometimes catch up with them.” Marshals primarily serve court ordered evictions, and Woloz commented that they are trained to deal with fragile situations.

“The marshal is entering this person’s life at a challenging time. It’s not a pleasant call,” Woloz said to the Daily News. “These guys are professional, and they’re very sensitive to the fact that it’s a very sensitive time to the recipient.”

In 2001, City Marshal Erskine Bryce, 66, was killed after he was set on fire while serving eviction papers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, the Daily News claimed, adding that police were still investigating the apparent suicide late Tuesday.