QUEENS — A Jamaica man who try to flee a police traffic stop is facing up to life in prison after he dragged an NYPD officer and clipped another, the Queens District Attorney said Friday.
Officers Daniel Gaspertti and Anthony Alistico stopped Kyle Freistat, 38, on Brinkerhoff Avenue near 174th Street on July 26 after observing him driving his black Nissan Maxima with the busted taillight and failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, according to the DA.
Freistat then took off after handing the officers a forged U.S. Virgin Islands driver’s license and being asked to exit his vehicle after Gasperttie opened the driver’s side door.
Gaspertti got trapped on the door while Freistat “accelerated” at a “high rate of speed,” the DA’s office said in a statement.
The driver then struck a parked vehicle while Alistico gave chase. When the second officer tried to again get Gaspertti out of the car he suddenly drove in reverse, causing Alistico to jump out of the way.
The driver then stopped and again drove forward, hitting Alistico with the passenger-side door and continuing to drag Gaspertti until he struck two parked vehicles.
The officers were then finally able to get Freistat out of the vehicle. He then “flailed his arms and twisted his body” while they tried to handcuff him, according to the DA.
“This case clearly illustrated how dangerous police work is and why police officers are not permitted the luxury of assuming that any traffic stop is a routine matter,” Queens DA Richard Brown said in a statement.
“In this case, the defendant is accused of showing that he has no regard for authority and is a menace to society by his senseless and violent actions. He now faces the possibility of life in prison if convicted.”
Officers then found a knife on the floor of his vehicle and later a loaded semi-automatic pistol after executing a search warrant for his car.
Gaspertti was treated for lacerations, bruising and a broken kneecap at a local hospital.
Arlistico was also treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.
Freistat was charged with two counts each of attempted murder, assault on a police officer, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a forged instrument, unlawful fleeing a police officer, resisting arrest and failing to stop at a stop sign.
He was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Thursday night and held without bail. He is due back to court on July 31.
His lawyer did not return an immediate request for comment.
