Suffolk Cop Critically Injured In Stabbing

PATCHOGUE, NY — A Patchogue man was arrested after stabbing a uniformed police officer, leaving him in critical condition, after a car crash in Patchogue Saturday night, Suffolk police said.

The officer in a marked police car saw a 1999 Mercedes Benz, driven by 25-year-old Jonathan Nunez, driving erratically with no headlights on southbound South Ocean Avenue at about 10:40 p.m., police said.

The officer tried to pull over the car when the Mercedes Benz crashed into a 2004 Nissan at the intersection of South Ocean Avenue and Brook Street, police said.

Nunez got out of his car after the crash, failed to comply with the officer’s commands, and started fighting with the officer in the yard of a home South Ocean Avenue, police said.

During the fight, Nunez stabbed the officer in the leg. Two good Samaritans and responding officers took Nunez into custody, police said.

The officer 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 ruptured artery and is listed in critical condition, police said.

Nunez was charged with aggravated assault upon a police officer, DWI and resisting arrest, police said. He was admitted to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue and will be arraigned at a later date.

The driver of the Nissan was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment of non life-threatening injuries.