A Staten Island man was arrested in Seaford Friday night and charged with assaulting an off-duty New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer following a car accident on Sunrise Highway.
According to detectives, Nassau County Seventh Precinct officers responded to an accident that occurred on Sunrise Highway near the corner of Jackson Avenue in which John J Giordonello, 41, was driving a 2005 Ford Crown Victoria when he struck the car of an off-duty NYPD officer from behind. As the victim attempted to exchange information with Giordonello, he was punched in the face, which caused substantial pain, police said. The off-duty officer was then dragged through an adjacent nearby gas station as he tried to hold Giordonello until police arrived, according to detectives.
Giordonello proceeded to flee in his vehicle eastbound on Sunrise Highway, police said. A short time later with the assistance of the Nassau County Police K-9 unit, he was found in the front yard of a home on Gilmartin Lane in Seaford hiding in the bushes and placed under arrest without incident.
Giordonello was charged with second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He was arraigned on Saturday at First District Court in Hempstead.
