By:Jeff Lipton
After the collision, the off-duty cop followed the car from Hewlett into Lynbrook, where the youth got out of his car and, toting the gun, approached the officer's car, according to police. That was when the officer reportedly fired at the youth. The shots missed the boy, who was arrested a short time later, police said.
"He's very fortunate he wasn't shot," Inspector Richard McGuire, commander of the Fourth Precinct, said of the youth. McGuire said the gun the boy pulled on the officer turned out to be an air pistol, but was an exact replica of a Walther PPK, a powerful weapon commonly referred to as the "James Bond gun."
According to Fourth Squad detectives, the off-duty New York City police officer, whose name was being withheld, was driving home from work at 2:50 a.m. on July 15 when his 1997 Plymouth was struck by a 2000 Saturn on Peninsula Boulevard in Hewlett. The officer works in the 100th Precinct in the Rockaways, McGuire said.
The Saturn then sped away without stopping, and the officer followed it, authorities said.
After driving for a short time, the Saturn turned onto South Franklin Avenue in Lynbrook, which is a dead-end street. It reached the end of the road, pulled into the driveway of a private home and stopped, detectives said.
The officer pulled his vehicle in behind the Saturn, blocking it in the driveway, detectives said. A passenger in the Saturn then jumped from the car and ran into the bushes, police said.
The driver of the Saturn and two other passengers exited the car and approached the off-duty cop, officials said. After words were exchanged, the 16-year-old driver of the Saturn went back to the car, reached inside and emerged with a black handgun in his right hand, police said. He approached the officer, yelling at him and pointing the handgun directly at him, officials said. The officer retreated to the other side of the street with the suspect in pursuit.
Inspector McGuire said that when the youth approached the officer, the officer identified himself as a cop. "[The youth] was attempting to intimidate the officer into not collecting any accident information, since the driver was not licensed [to drive]," McGuire said. "Even though the gun was a replica, the air pistol could have done some damage as well," McGuire added.
At that point, according to police, the off-duty officer drew his service weapon and opened fire, squeezing off several shots. Apparently, none of the shots struck the suspect.
The gunman and two passengers then ran away, with the officer giving chase. A short time later, the 16-year-old suspect, identified as Alvin Collins, of 147th drive in Rosedale, Queens, was observed in the vicinity riding a stolen bicycle, police said.
Collins was found in possession of a Walther PPK CO2 air pistol, officials said. He was arrested and charged with second-degree menacing, fourth-degree possession of a dangerous weapon, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an incident.
The passengers were questioned and released, police said. Police said the Saturn belongs to Collins's mother.
