UPDATE: The suspect accused of briefly commandeering an intersection during the unhinged incident was identified as Kiber Calderon, who now faces 13 criminal charges. Read more.
NEW YORK – A quick-thinking Nassau County police officer on Long Island used his police unit to neutralize a woman who brandished and fired a gun while threatening people in their cars, according to law enforcement authorities.
Stunning video posted on Reddit revealed the scene as police responded to a report of a woman firing a gun into the air at the intersection of Bellmore and Jerusalem avenues in North Bellmore around 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, News 12 Long Island reported.
The female suspect fired the weapon and menacingly pointed it at people in vehicles as she walked in the road. At one point she even held the weapon to her own head, the video shows.
Suddenly, a Nassau Police unit flies into the frame and clips the woman and knocks her to the ground despite her effort to get out of its path.
“Drop the gun!” one officer demands as he ran toward the suspect who appears to reach for the firearm, which she dropped after she was struck by the police cruiser.
Three officers then approach and take the woman into custody.
(r/AbruptChaos – Reddit)
Authorities did not identify the 33-year-old woman who sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. She remains in police custody, according to Nassau Police, the New York Post reported.
Authorities said the officer who struck the woman was also hospitalized and undergoing care for trauma.
During a press conference, Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told reporters the officer was properly following protocol when he used his vehicle to knock the suspect to the ground.
“Protocol on the police department is that deadly physical force spurs deadly physical force,” Ryder said, News12 reported.
“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.”
It’s unclear what charges the woman will face as the investigation remains ongoing, police said.
