BY JOSEPH KELLARD
According to police, Thomas McTiernan, 49, of Island Park was riding his bicycle on Long Beach Road at about 10 a.m. on July 20 when he approached a 47-year-old woman and her 12-year-old daughter and began swinging a hammer at them in a threatening manner while shouting obscenities. The mother and child, fearing for their safety, took refuge in a nearby department store, where the mother called police.
McTiernan rode away on his bike, but police stopped him soon afterward outside Narissi Furniture Gallery, at the corner of Long Beach Road and East Atlantic Avenue. McTiernan then used the hammer to threaten several police officers who had surrounded him, police said. Officers eventually talked McTiernan into dropping the hammer, but he remained highly agitated and excited, they reported. Police then used a taser gun on McTiernan, who hit the ground, and police took him into custody without injury, they said.
McTiernan was arrested and charged with two counts of second-degree menacing and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was transported to the Nassau University Medical Center for a mental and physical evaluation, and pending clearance was scheduled to be arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.
Police know McTiernan, a former professional boxer who has exhibited violent behavior before, they said. A 4th Precinct supervisor was unavailable on Monday to provide further details on the incident.
Comments about this article? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 287.
