Commissioner: Hero Long Island cop struck woman firing gun into air with cruiser

A Long Island officer behind the wheel of a police cruiser ran down a woman Tuesday afternoon, and officials say it was not an accident.

Traffic came to a complete stop on the busy North Bellmore intersection after the woman was caught on video pointing a gun at everyone in her path.

Moments before the cop struck her down, police say the 33-year-old woman crossing the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Bellmore Avenue fired a gun once in the air.

“It’s a loaded gun that she’s waving around in the traffic, pointing at people that have got their children and their families in their cars,” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said Tuesday.

The woman then points the gun at her head, as seen in the video shared widely across social media. It’s then that a Nassau County officer hits her with his squad car.

“I thought it was brilliant that they guy knocked her down to at least get her under control. It was a great move,” Ellen Zainfeld said.

Once she was knocked down, officers restrained the woman and removed the semiautomatic handgun. Police said she was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for her injuries.

The officer who struck the woman was taken to another hospital to be treated for trauma. Commissioner Ruder called the unidentified officer a hero.

“I never am going to Morning morning quarterback my cops. They did an outstanding job. They faced down deadly physical force against the civilians and themselves and they used their vehicle to stop their threat,” he said.