Editor’s Note: Police initially identified the suspect as a woman. They later said the suspect is a man. The story has been updated.
NORTH BELLMORE, N.Y. (PIX11) — The gun-toting suspect caught on video getting hit by a police car on Long Island Tuesday is facing weapons and drug charges, police said.
Authorities said Kiber Calderon, 31, also known as Hanna Carillo, was allegedly waving a black and silver gun at motorists and police near Jerusalem and Bellmore avenues in North Bellmore at around 2:20 p.m. Police said they received several 911 calls about an individual firing a gun into the air.
An officer hit Calderon with the front passenger side of the police vehicle. Calderon fell to the ground and was quickly detained by officers, police said. The suspect was then arrested and the gun was recovered.
The quick-thinking officer chose to hit the suspect instead of firing his weapon because if he missed, he could’ve hit an innocent bystander, Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder said during a briefing Wednesday. Officers are trained to use an equal amount of force in these situations, the commissioner said.
County Executive Bruce A. Blakeman said the officer’s actions were “somewhat ingenious.”
Calderon was taken to the hospital with minor injuries and is undergoing a mental health evaluation, police said. An officer is being treated for trauma at a local hospital. Officials said the officer is out on sick leave.
Calderon was charged with menacing, reckless endangerment, menacing a police officer, criminal contempt of court, criminal possession of a controlled substance, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminal possession of a firearm, police said.
Authorities did not provide specifics on the drug charge. Calderon has not yet been arraigned.
The defendant was also arrested twice for burglary in New York City in June, police said. According to the NYPD, Calderon allegedly stole a package from a Brooklyn home and tried to break into another home in the borough, according to the NYPD.
Calderon, a Brooklyn resident, was charged with burglary, attempted burglary, and criminal trespass, the NYPD said.
Calderon has pleaded not guilty in those cases, according to public court records.
