NY Man, OC Cop Injured During Attempted Arrest
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A Mount Vernon, New York man and an Ocean City Police officer required hospital treatment for injuries suffered during an arrest resulting from a traffic stop early Monday.
According to Ocean City Police, a driver was clocked going 70 miles-per-hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone in the area of 28th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. Police said the driver ignored the officer’s flashing lights, but eventually stopped at 38th Street and Coastal Highway, and the smell of alcohol led to further investigation.
According to police, 40-year-old Erik Rucker became uncooperative during attempted field sobriety tests.
Later, police said he tried to make a phone call over his smartwatch while seated in the back of the patrol car, which is prohibited for the safety of the suspect and the officer. Officers tried to remove the watch, at which point police said Rucker began to thrash about and kicked two officers.
Ocean City EMS treated Rucker and one officer. Both were taken to a hospital and treated.
Rucker is facing multiple charges, as listed by Ocean City Police:
- : Second-degree assault on a law enforcement officer (2 counts), second-degree assault, disorderly conduct, obstructing and hindering, driving while under the influence, driving a vehicle while impaired by alcohol, driving a vehicle while so far impaired by drugs and alcohol cannot drive safely, driving a vehicle while impaired by CDS, driver changing lanes when unsafe, driver failure to obey properly placed traffic control device instructions, reckless driving, negligent driving, driving a vehicle in excess of reasonable speed, driver failure to obey designated lane directions, attempt by the driver to elude police by failing to stop, driving on suspended out of state license, driving a motor vehicle while license suspended in another state for failure to appear/failure to pay, failure of the driver to drive to curb upon signal by an emergency police vehicle, failure to display registration card, and aggressive driving.