A woman who was waving a gun at cars and stopping traffic on a North Bellmore intersection was struck by an officer’s vehicle, according to Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
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The woman fired the weapon into the air Tuesday afternoon at the corner of Bellmore and Jerusalem avenues.
An officer then struck the suspect with a squad car to knock her to the ground. Police then arrested the woman and recovered the semi-automatic handgun.
Ryder says the actions of the officer were part of normal protocol.
“Protocol on the police department is that deadly physical force spurs deadly physical force,” Ryder said. “If somebody has threatened deadly physical force against you or another, you have the right to use deadly physical force, and they chose it through their vehicle and they stopped the individual.”
Samantha Decarolis witnessed the event while she was out on her lunch break. Her friend recorded it.
“She was in the street and then she came more toward the sidewalk and then she got in the middle of the road and that’s when she started waving the gun,” Decarolis said.
The 33-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
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The officer was taken to the hospital for trauma.
Ryder also said the officer did a great job and was their “hero of the day.”
Police cleared the scene at around 8 p.m. but continued throughout the night searching the area for evidence.
There is no word from police on the condition of the woman prior to the incident or what led to her actions.
