Police say they've apprehended a Florida man wanted since August for allegedly side-swiping an NYPD officer as he fled a traffic stop in Queens.
Gary Sarbak, 61, was taken into custody Monday evening, law enforcement officials say. He has an extensive arrest record in Florida and in the New York area.
Sarbak was pulled over near Broadway and Crescent in Astoria on Aug. 22 because it matched the description of one being sought in a robbery investigation. One officer approached the truck on the driver's side, and the other went to the passenger side, according to law enforcement officials. Sarbak then hit the gas, and the officer on the passenger side was hit by the truck's side-view mirror.
The swipe caused the officer's gun to go off in his holster, and the other officer believed the two officers were being fired upon by the suspect, so he shot at the fleeing truck.
The officers had minor injuries.
Police found the pickup truck abandoned a few blocks away. Officials say it was stolen from Florida; there was a gun in the car at the time it was taken.
