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It happened in Carle Place on Tuesday, May 28.
Just before 4:30 p.m., Nassau County Police Bureau of Special Operations (BSO) Officers traveled to the Holiday Inn, located at 369 Old Country Road, to arrest Peter Centeno on an active bench warrant.
Centeno, age 42, of Hicksville, was found behind the hotel in a 2023 Chevy Malibu.
During the BSO’s investigation, Centeno allegedly drove his car into an unmarked patrol car and tried to hit the officer who had exited the vehicle.
Missing, he backed the car up and again accelerated, this time striking the officer. Police said the officer fired his gun, but it is unclear if Centeno was hit.
Officers attempted to remove the man from the Chevy Malibu after he reportedly refused to comply with authorities; for a third time, Centeno drove at the police.
This time, he hit the patrol car hard enough to render it inoperable and sped west on Old Country Road.
Centeno was later located and apprehended in Queens.
Both he and the officers involved in the incident were taken to a local hospital for evaluation and treatment.
Centeno is charged with:
- Attempted assault;
- Criminal mischief;
- Reckless endangerment;
- Menacing;
- Criminal possession of a weapon; and
- Vehicle and traffic law violations.
He was arraigned at Hempstead’s First District Court on Wednesday, May 29, where he pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear again on Friday.
Police said Centeno has five previous arrests for various crimes and violent felonies. In 2022, Daily Voice reported that he was accused of trespassing at Hicksville High School multiple times.
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