Good Samaritans help trooper struggling with attacker on Southern State

A state trooper making a routine traffic stop in West Hempstead was assaulted by a driver who punched him in the face, before being assisted by good Samaritans who subdued the attacker.

The incident occurred along the shoulder of the westbound Southern State Parkway near Exit 18, Eagle Avenue, at 4:18 p.m. on April 18, state police said.

Police said the trooper had stopped a blue Honda Odyssey for an expired Connecticut registration and said the driver, identified as Calith M. Hudson, 33, of Jamaica, Queens, immediately became “verbally combative,” throwing his license on the ground when asked to present it — then climbing over the passenger seat and exiting the vehicle despite commands to remain in the minivan.

Hudson then hit the trooper in the face with “a closed fist,” police said, injuring the trooper. The physical altercation that ensued was halted, police said, only after several good Samaritans stopped their vehicles and jumped into the fray, allowing the trooper to finalize the arrest.

Both Hudson and the trooper, whose name was not released, were transported to a hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Hudson was charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration.

Court records show Hudson was arraigned April 19 and entered a plea of not guilty. He was represented by a Legal Aid Society attorney.

Records show Hudson was released with unspecified “non-monetary” conditions. He is due back in court Friday, records show.

Police could not immediately confirm the identities of the good Samaritans — or define how many commuters stopped to assist the trooper in need.

But, in a statement about the incident, state police thanked the drivers who stopped to help, noting: “Every day in law enforcement there is no such thing as 'a routine traffic stop.' In this instance, what one may call a 'routine' traffic stop led to a physical altercation and a trooper becoming injured. … If not for the efforts of these good Samaritans, our trooper potentially could have been seriously injured.”

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”