MANHATTAN MAN SENTENCED TO 6 YEARS IN PRISON FOR DRIVING OVER NYPD OFFICER’S LEG AFTER HIGH-SPEED CHASE

 

Attack was Captured on Body-Camera Footage

Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Manhattan man was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted by a jury of second-degree Assault and additional charges for fleeing from police after a traffic stop, then dragging an NYPD Officer under his vehicle. 

District Attorney Clark said, “For over a mile and half, the driver weaved in and out of traffic, ran red lights and stop signs, and put the lives of drivers and pedestrians at risk. After crashing his car, he attacked an NYPD Officer who entered his vehicle, then accelerated and drove over her, injuring her. The defendant now faces the consequences of his callous disregard for an officer’s life.” 

District Attorney Clark said defendant Usman Haruna, 27, of Manhattan, was sentenced on May 7, 2025. Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio sentenced the defendant to six years in prison and three years’ post-release supervision for second-degree Assault, 364 days in prison for second-degree Unlawfully Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle, 364 days in prison for Resisting Arrest, and 180 days in prison and a $350 fine for second-degree Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle, as well as an additional $300 fine for Reckless Driving. The sentences will run concurrently. The defendant was found guilty by a jury on March 12, 2025. 

According to the investigation on December 12, 2021, in the Fordham section of the Bronx, the defendant refused to pull over during a traffic stop near 194th Street and Marion Avenue. Haruna drove into oncoming traffic, through red lights, speeding, and at one point steered onto the sidewalk to avoid traffic.

Police approached the vehicle to stop it and turn it off. The defendant punched one officer who attempted to put the vehicle in park. When another officer opened the driver-side door, the defendant pushed her out of the vehicle, accelerated the car and ran over the officer’s hip and leg. He then crashed into another car. The officer suffered a fractured ankle. 

District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Officer Solanyi Paredes of the 34 Precinct Detective Squad, NYPD Sargeant Daniel Trancucci of Bronx Auto Larceny and NYPD Officer Roy Valentine from the 52nd Precinct for their assistance in the investigation.