A Nassau County officer shot a man in the face after he allegedly smashed a patrol car window with a knife while officers were inside Monday night, police said.
The incident started around 10 p.m. when police received a call about a man “acting erratically” and threatening to stab people with a large knife. Law enforcement officials found an individual matching the suspect’s description near a wooded area.
As officers drove up to the suspect, the person came running out from the bushes with a 13-inch butcher knife. The man smashed the passenger-side window of the unmarked patrol car where an officer was sitting.
“He turns as the knife is coming through the window and he fires a couple of times at the individual,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.
The suspect was not hit and ran toward the back of the car. Then, the officer driving the car got out and shot the man in the face.
The bullet went through one side of his jaw and out the other side, Ryder said.
The suspect was hospitalized and is recovering. The two officers involved were also treated at the hospital.
The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Adrian Thompson.
The only other interaction law enforcement had with Thompson was in April. Ryder said police got a call about Thompson acting irrationally and possibly sniffing glue.
“This young man was also a medical student at Columbia at one point, so he’s a well-educated individual, obviously going through some depression, according to the parents,” Ryder said.
Man Shot In The Face By Officer After Charging At Patrol Car With Knife On Long Island, Police Say
