Police: Cop shot, suspect then killed

A Nassau County police officer fatally shot a suspect in an East Meadow parking lot early Friday after a struggle that left a fellow officer wounded, police said.

The injured officer was struck in the leg by a bullet from his own gun as the suspect grappled with him for the weapon.

Department spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith said the suspect was shot at least twice in the upper torso.

Authorities identified the suspect as Dwayne Oxley, 41, of East Meadow, an ex-con released on parole in March 2009.

Since 1997, Oxley had been in state prison twice for burglary- and robbery-related crimes in Nassau and Queens, records show.

Smith said the officer who was shot thought Oxley was acting suspiciously and called for backup about 5:20 a.m.

At the time, Oxley was sitting alone in his Isuzu Rodeo in the parking lot of the East Meadow Plaza shopping center.

The first officer approached Oxley and asked him to get out of the sport utility vehicle, police said.

Oxley did, but when the backup officer arrived and got out of his vehicle, the suspect ran back to the vehicle and locked the doors, police said.

The officers managed to pull Oxley out of the SUV. Oxley and the first officer then wrestled over the officer's gun, which fired several times, police said.

The backup officer "saw an opportunity to stop the struggle" and shot Oxley, Smith said, calling the shooting justified.

Smith's preliminary account of the struggle had Oxley fleeing when he was shot. Smith later clarified that the suspect was fatally shot during the struggle.

Police said both First Precinct officers, whose names weren't released, are in their early 30s and have been on the force four or five years.

Their union, the Nassau Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement that the officers "displayed true professionalism in a very dangerous situation."

The parking lot is in the 1900 block of Hempstead Turnpike, across from the entrance to Eisenhower Park and just a few blocks from where Oxley lived.

Reports of vehicle break-ins in area parking lots had put officers on the lookout for suspicious activities, police said.

The wounded officer was taken to Nassau University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery for a broken femur, Smith said.

County Executive Edward Mangano and police officials spoke with the officer soon after the shooting.

"I visited with the officer, who was in pain but doing well," Mangano said in a statement. "I offered my support and appreciation for his service to our county."

Smith said the officer who shot the suspect was treated for trauma.

Lora Ruocco, Oxley's fiancee, said he was a truck driver with a 14-year-old son.

"We love him. We miss him. The whole family is completely devastated," she said. "It's a great loss to everybody, believe me."

Records show that Oxley was paroled in October 2000 after being sentenced in 1997 for second-degree burglary and second-degree attempted burglary in Nassau.

In December 2004, he went to prison for second-degree attempted robbery and second-degree attempted burglary in Queens, records said.

With Patricia Kitchen,

Celeste Hadrick, Ellen Yan

and Kery Murakami