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New Rochelle resident Darren Smith, age 27, was sentenced on Tuesday, April 2 to 230 months in prison for assaulting an FBI officer during a September 2020 pursuit in Yonkers, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.
According to federal officials, on September 25, 2020, Yonkers Police officers pulled over the car Smith had been driving. He then sped off and led police on a car chase before bailing out and continuing on foot through the crowded streets of downtown Yonkers.
During the chase, he was seen holding a loaded handgun and ignored several orders to stop and drop the gun. An FBI Task Force Officer assigned to the Westchester-based Safe Streets Task Force was one of the officers pursuing Smith through Yonkers.
Eventually, the chase ended when the FBI officer and members of the Yonkers Police brought Smith down to the ground. While they tried restraining him, though, he refused to let go of his gun and fired five shots into the crowded Getty Square area of Yonkers while he was near several bystanders, including a woman pushing a baby stroller.
While firing these shots, he tried turning the gun back toward law enforcement members, including the FBI officer who was trying to restrain him, officials said.
Smith was later convicted on charges related to this incident in September 2022.
In addition to his prison sentence, Smith will be required to serve five years of supervised release.
In a statement, US Attorney Damian Williams warned others against repeating Smith's actions.
"This office stands shoulder to shoulder with our partners in law enforcement when they come under attack," he said, adding, "We will stop at nothing to ensure that those who seek to harm them face justice.”
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