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It happened Thursday, June 20 at approximately 6:25 p.m. during a traffic stop by police south of Yaphank Commons Drive in Ridge, police said.
Robert McDowell was reportedly driving a 2002 Ford van southbound on Smith Road when officers from the Seventh Precinct initiated a traffic stop near Strathmore Ridge Drive at 6:25 p.m., according to police.
The officers were in plain clothes in an unmarked vehicle, police said.
During the traffic stop, the officers reportedly discovered McDowell was driving with a suspended license.
When McDowell was asked to step out of the vehicle, he refused, according to the police report.
He allegedly put the van in drive and accelerated while one of the officers was on the driver’s side and the other officer, a sergeant, was on the passenger's side of the car, reportedly causing injuries to the officer on the driver's side to his hand, knee, and lower leg, said Suffolk County Police.
The police sergeant suffered injuries to his hand, wrist, and knee, according to the report.
Despite their injuries, both officers pursued the fleeing vehicle and allegedly observed the driver throwing suspected contraband out the window during the pursuit," said police.
The van reportedly continued southbound on William Floyd Parkway and was stopped south of Yaphank Commons Drive with the assistance of several other units, said Suffolk Police.
McDowell allegedly remained combative and had to be removed from the vehicle, subdued, and arrested, according to police.
Canine Section officers reportedly recovered contraband on the side of the road, said the report.
The injured police officers were taken to Stony Brook University Hospital via police vehicle. They were treated for their injuries and released, according to police.
McDowell was taken to Long Island Community Hospital in East Patchogue where he was treated for minor abrasions and contusions and released for processing, police said.
McDowell, 31, of Bohemia, was charged with the following,
- Two counts of second-degree assault,
- Tampering with physical evidence, a felony,
- Criminal impersonation, a misdemeanor,
- Resisting arrest,
- Second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle,
- Operating a motor vehicle without an interlock device.
- He also had three outstanding misdemeanor warrants, police said.
McDowell was held overnight at the Seventh Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday, June 21.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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