A Long Island police officer is in critical condition after a Mercedes driver stabbed him with a knife during a stop Saturday night, officials said.
Suffolk County police officer Christopher Racioppo was in a clear cross when he saw Jonathan Nunez, 25, allegedly driving a 1999 Mercedes-Benz from Patchogue at about 10:30 p.m., in Patchogue.
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When Racioppo tried to pull over the Mercedes, it crashed into a 2004 Nissan at the intersection of South Ocean Avenue and Brook Street, police said.
Nunez got out of the vehicle and started fighting with the officer in the front yard of a house on South Ocean Avenue, police said.
During the confrontation, Nunez stabbed the officer in the leg and hit an artery, police said. Two Good Samaritans and responding officers took control of Nunez and arrested him.
Racioppo was transported to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue and then transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for a torn artery and is listed in critical condition.
Nunez of Holbrook Road 33 was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, driving while intoxicated and resisting. He was admitted to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue and will be arrested later.
The driver of the Nissan was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries
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“Officer Racioppo was critically injured last night during a foot chase after a suspect in Patchogue,” Noel DiGerolamo, president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement. “At the scene, fellow Suffolk County police officers conducted a successful tournament to prevent further blood loss and transport him to the hospital. This incident confirms the dangers that Suffolk police face every time they report for duty.”
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