The career killer who was killed in a shootout with a wounded hero cop was on the streets because a Queens judge set him free three months ago — even after prosecutors and his parole officer pushed him to close it.

Gary Worthy, 57, was already on life parole after serving two terms in state prison when he went before Queens Criminal Court Judge Edward Daniels on Aug. 27 for a pair of new criminal cases for assault and burglary, records reviewed by The Post reveal.

The Queens District Attorney’s Office requested that Worthy be held on $120,000 bail “based on the nature of the offenses and the defendant’s criminal record,” a spokesman for District Attorney Judge Melinda Katz said Wednesday. Worthy’s parole officer requested that he be held without bail at the same hearing.

But Daniels instead released Worthy without bail, and he remained at large after being arrested again last week on drug possession and resisting arrest charges, records show.

On Tuesday night, police said a gun-wielding Worthy tried to rob a Jamaican bodega and a smokehouse before being confronted by officers, wounding one of the officers before being shot.

“He was arrested numerous times while on parole,” a law enforcement source told The Post. “But it seems that’s not enough to put him back. If he hadn’t died, I’m sure (his parole officer) would have been upset that he missed the meeting.

“We interact with criminals every day and there’s great comfort in knowing there’s someone out there looking after them, holding them to account. But now after this, it really shows we’re on our own.”

The Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, which oversees the parole system, initiated proceedings to lock up Worthy after he was charged in August, but Daniels ordered the ex-convict’s release, an agency spokesman said in a statement. email on Wednesday.

By law, the department has 24 hours to issue a warrant to bring a case before a judge, but the spokesman noted that “the judge has the sole authority to make the decision whether he is remanded in custody or released on recognizance.”

According to a transcript of the Aug. 27 court proceeding, Worthy’s parole officer said the ex-convict had not shown up for a mandatory meeting with him since April, despite calling occasionally.

In two of the cases against him, Worthy allegedly pulled knives on his brother and a friend in separate incidents, telling one, “I’m going to kill you and shoot you,” the transcript shows.

In the second case, he warned: “I will cut you and throw you off the balcony.”

At one point, both the prosecutor and Worthy’s Legal Aid attorney said he did not have access to a gun.

“The court finds that, in this case, the parolee does not present a substantial risk of failure to appear at a preliminary or final (parole) revocation hearing and that non-monetary conditions would be the least restrictive means of ensuring his attendance to those proceedings,” the judge said.

Daniels then ordered Worthy released, but was required to call his parole officer the next morning.

In an email Wednesday, a spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration, which oversees the court system, said the agency does not comment on bail decisions, “except that in such cases in New York, judges have discretion … based solely on an individualized assessment of the defendant’s flight risk.”

Worthy’s criminal history dates back to 1994, when he was sentenced to 16 years in state prison on a manslaughter conviction — after pleading guilty to a first-degree murder charge.

He was released in 2008, only to be arrested again on gun charges the following year. He was hit with two to four years in prison and was released in 2021 on life parole, records show.

He remained at large despite seven more arrests, including three pending cases in Queens for assault, burglary and felony drug possession, records show.

In the most recent cases, he was charged with assault on April 19 and burglary on June 7 – cases that brought him before Daniels in court on August 27.

He was arrested again last week on drug and resisting arrest charges — and released again.

Security camera footage obtained by The Post captured Worthy’s latest alleged crimes Tuesday.

Around 5:30 p.m., he entered the Village Market & Grill on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica and attempted to rob the storekeeper. The video shows Worthy pulling a gun out of a plastic bag and slamming it on the counter after ordering a $9 portion of rice, beans and chicken.

“He told me not to move,” clerk Satvir Kaur said Wednesday. “I was scared because he didn’t ask me for money, nothing. So I was afraid that he wanted to kill me.

“I ran, down into the basement,” Kaur said. “While I was downstairs, I heard a gunshot.”

She said Worthy fired a shot into the cash register but was unable to get the money inside. He then left the store, got on a bicycle and drove away, the clerk said.

That’s when Kaur called the police.

About an hour later, police said Worthy walked into a small smoker’s shop on Guy Brewer Boulevard and asked for a pack of cigarettes — then fired a shotgun at clerk Abdulla Abdulla.

“He said, ‘Give me all your money,'” Abdulla said. “I don’t even know how much money I gave him, but I think maybe he wasn’t happy with how much money it was.

“He shot me, one shot, and it went between my legs,” he said. “He hit the glass in front of the shop. I said, “I’ve given you everything, you can check for yourself.” He said, “OK, give me more Newport.” I gave him Newport 100s and Newport Shorts, maybe a 12-pack.”

Abdulla said Worthy told him to get down and leave the store.

Outside, NYPD veteran Rich Wong confronted Worthy, who turned and fired at the officers, striking Wong in the thigh. The wounded policeman fired back, striking Worthy in the face and killing him.

A 26-year-old bystander was also injured and is expected to survive.

Wong was released from Jamaica Hospital on Wednesday as more than 200 NYPD officers, including from his own 103rd Precinct, cheered him on.

Outside the hospital, NYPD PBA President Patrick Hendry criticized the criminal justice system that allowed Worthy to remain free despite repeated arrests and a lifetime parole.

“Something has to change, and it has to change now,” he said. “The police feel that the system does not support us. Police officers will always have the backs of the people in the communities. We will always be there for them. We will always get criminals off the streets.

“But we need this system to support us.”