Officers from the 52nd Precinct are asking for the public’s help identifying the two people seen in the attached video and photo who are sought in connection to an assault on a police officer that occurred in  University Heights.

Police said that on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at around 10.39 p.m., officers in uniform, who were in an unmarked police vehicle, observed a person changing a license plate on a gray 2007 BMW M5 in front of 2287 Loring Avenue, and attempted to conduct a car stop.

 

“The initial police vehicle was parked slightly in front of the BMW, and a secondary, unmarked police vehicle that responded to the location parked slightly behind the BMW,” a police spokesperson said. “As officers approached the BMW, the unknown male that was previously outside of the vehicle changing the license plate fled into the rear driver side passenger seat of the vehicle.”

 

Police said a second person who was the driver of the vehicle began ramming the car back and forth into the two unmarked police vehicles. “Six uninvolved, civilian vehicles were also damaged by the BMW,” police added. “Officers on scene called for additional units to respond. An officer in uniform in a marked police vehicle arrived at the location. As this officer exited his marked vehicle, the BMW reversed and struck the officer.”

 

Police said the driver of the BMW then recklessly drove along a public sidewalk and fled the location. “EMS responded and transported the injured officer to Montefiore Medical Center in stable condition with an injury to the right knee.”

 

No other physical injuries were reported following the incident, only property damage, police said. After a canvass of the area, police said the BMW was located, unoccupied, near the intersection of While Plains Road and Morris Park Avenue in Little Yemen, and was removed.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.