Police fatally shoot man in Massapequa, officers injured after chase, commissioner says

Police shot and killed a man in Massapequa after a chase that began Friday night in Queens, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that the man had fled a traffic stop by the NYPD, and later struck or almost struck civilian and police cars, as well as several people. The chase left eight hospitalized, including five Nassau officers, two NYPD officers and one civilian. All those hospitalized had minor injuries, according to Nassau police spokesman Det. Lt. Scott Skrynecki.

Just after 11 p.m., the driver had sped away from NYPD cops "at a high rate of speed," the NYPD press office wrote in an email. "A supervisor terminated the attempt to apprehend the driver," the email said.

Speaking at a news conference Saturday morning, Ryder described the driver as "reckless." His car "jumped onto oncoming traffic on Sunrise Highway. He's ramming police cars. He's ramming civilian cars, and he lost control of his own vehicle."

The initial stop, chase and shooting all occurred within about a half hour, according to Nassau police.

Ryder did not say exactly how the officers came to shoot the man except that "officers attempted to get that individual out of the car, a shooting occurred and the individual has died."

The man's name wasn’t disclosed, pending notification of his family, Ryder said, nor were the number or names of the officer or officers who opened fire. Skrynecki said the number of officers involved in the shooting is under investigation. The basis for the initial stop in Queens also wasn’t disclosed, though police said it was within the jurisdiction of the 113rd precinct, which includes parts of southeastern Queens, near the border with Nassau County. 

Last year, NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey issued a memo warning officers to rethink engaging in high-speed pursuits, after several episodes in which civilians were injured during police chases, according to a published report.

Nassau's policy about pursuits was not immediately clear.

Ryder said the state attorney general’s office — which under state law investigates deaths caused by police officers — had been notified.

Alexis Richards, a spokesperson for Attorney General Letitia James, declined to provide information about the extent of the office's involvement in the case.

Ryder said that the episode had been captured on police officers' body-worn cameras; the footage was not made public on Saturday. 

“The individual decided he was not going to stop. He ran through,” Ryder said, adding that the man tried to strike two officers who “dove out of the way.”

“He took two police cars, rammed them, knocked the doors off, knocked two officers to the ground that they jumped out of the way,” Ryder said.

The police did not provide a make and model of the vehicle involved in the chase, but a photo of the crashed vehicle shows an SUV.

Check back for updates on this developing story.