PATCHOGUE, N.Y. — A Long Island man suspected of driving while intoxicated stabbed a police officer who tried to pull him over in Patchogue Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday.
The officer was in a marked police vehicle around 10:40 p.m. when he tried to pull over the suspect, identified as Jonathan Nunez, who was driving erratically with no headlights on, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
Nunez’s vehicle then crashed into a 2004 Nissan at the intersection of South Ocean Avenue and Brook Street, authorities said.
When Nunez got out of the car, police said he got into a physical altercation with the officer in the front yard of a home and stabbed the officer in the leg.
Two good Samaritans and other officers responding to the scene took Nunez into custody, according to SCPD.
The officer was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured artery, police said. He was listed in critical condition, as of Sunday.
Noel DiGerolamo, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, said on Sunday that fellow officers applied a tourniquet to his leg before he was taken to the hospital.
“We extend our thoughts to Officer Racioppo and ask all Suffolk County residents to keep him and his family in their prayers as the circumstances remain critical,” DiGerolamo said in a statement Sunday. “This incident reaffirms the dangers faced by Suffolk Police every time they report for duty.”
Nunez, 25, was charged with aggravated assault upon a police officer, driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, police said. He was also taken to a hospital for undisclosed reasons and was expected to be arraigned at a later date.
The driver of the Nissan was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
