Suspected gang member charged with shooting NYPD sergeants flips off camera in holding cell

The suspected gang member who allegedly shot and wounded two NYPD sergeants after robbing a woman on the Lower East Side this week showed no remorse — giving the middle finger to cops while sitting in his holding cell.

Joshua Dorsett, 22, can be seen flipping off the camera with both hands, while handcuffed and shackled inside the dingy cell, the snap provided to The Post showed.

The barefoot suspect is dressed in dirty gray sweatpants and a matching hoodie. He appeared in court wearing a t-shirt and pajama pants emblazoned with the “I Love NY” logo.

“That’s probably a ‘f–k you’ to the detectives,” a veteran NYPD officer said of the photo.

“He’s known in the 5th Precinct. He’s been a nuisance in that precinct. I’m sure they’re like ‘We finally got you.’”

“He’s not just giving the finger to the cops. He’s giving the finger to all the people who think we’re able to protect them from him,” another longtime detective added.

“The courts don’t do what they’re supposed to do to keep people like him from hurting innocent people. If he doesn’t give a fuck about the police, then why would he give a fuck about John Q citizen?”

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“That’s a snapshot of everything that’s wrong on our streets right now — another repeat offender who has no respect for the law, no regard for human life, and no fear that he’ll face any consequences,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said of the photo.

“The justice system needs to step up and show him he’s wrong. These attacks on police officers won’t stop until the message on the streets changes.”

“It’s pretty obvious that he has no respect for anyone at all if he’s going to take a shot at two police officers,” added Vincent Vallelong, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association.

One officer found Dorsett’s attitude unsurprising.

“It’s not shocking, it’s not uncommon,” an officer told The Post outside the 5th Precinct on Saturday.

Dorsett was arrested Thursday after he allegedly threatened patrons at a Canal Street mahjong parlor with a gun and swiped their purses before taking off, video exclusively obtained by The Post showed .

A few moments later, two sergeants stopped Dorsett and tried to restrain him on Eldridge Street, near Delancey, cops said.

The Up the Hill gang member fired off one shot that hit both officers, authorities said.

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Sgt. Carl Johnson, 43, of the 5th precinct, was shot in the groin, and the same bullet passed through and grazed Sgt. Christopher Leap, 34, of the 7th precinct, in the left leg, police said.

Police recovered a .45 Taurus semi-automatic pistol at the scene, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a news conference Thursday night.

Both cops were taken to Bellevue Hospital.

Leap, an NYPD veteran of 11 years, was discharged around 9 p.m. Thursday. Johnson, a 16-year vet, remained hospitalizeded with a bullet fragment in his thigh, according to the criminal complaint against Dorsett.

Johnson, a 16-year vet, left the hospital around 4:30 p.m. Saturday to the sound of thunderous applause from a crowd of officers.

The heroic cop gave two thumbs-up as hospital staff rolled him out in a wheelchair to black van, where his family was waiting for him.

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Johnson told reporters he was feeling “better than when I came in” and repeatedly thanked the hospital staff.

Dorsett was arraigned Friday on charges of attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and assault.

The suspect has a long history of trouble with the law, including at least three prior arrests for criminal possession of a controlled substance, according to police.

Dorsett sold crack cocaine to an undercover officer six times between March 8 and June 6, 2022, according to a criminal complaint.

He pleaded guilty to criminal sale of a controlled substance in the case, and received three years of probation during sentencing in May.

Dorsett visited his parole officer Thursday morning, just a few hours before the shooting, according to cops.

“The guy has no respect for anything. This guy is a gang member and he’s on parole. Right off the bat he has no respect for life. I have two sergeants who are both going to go home at the end of the day and that’s good. He should be charged to the fullest extent of the law,” Vallelong insisted.

Additional reporting by Claire Samstag

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