BROOKLYN — A driver who slammed into several cars during a police chase through Canarsie Thursday evening was shot by an NYPD officer, police said.
Officer James Hasper fired a single round into the left shoulder of Raymond Martinez, 42, as he rammed a squadcar with his Chevy Tahoe near Rockaway Parkway and East 98th Street, police said.
Martinez, who police said has been arrested a dozen times before, was taken to Brookdale Hospital in stable condition. An NYPD spokesman said three police officers were injured during the chase.
Police tried to pull Martinez over after they saw him drive through a red light at Rockaway Parkway and Avenue K about 7:30 p.m., the NYPD said.
But instead of stopping, Martinez drove off, driving through a red light and turning right onto Flatlands Avenue where he hit a fire hydrant and an unmarked police car, injuring an officer who was getting out of the vehicle, the NYPD said.
With police chasing him, Martinez doubled back and headed north again on Rockaway Boulevard until he slammed into a civilian's car that was stopped in traffic near East 98th Street, police said.
He then backed into a squadcar behind him, injuring two officers who were inside, the NYPD said.
Hasper was en route to the 69th Precinct stationhouse when he saw Martinez crashing into the cars.
Hasper, who'd recently been reassigned from an office-based post as part of the NYPD's "Summer All Out" program that's designed to put more officers on the street, fired a single shot that wounded Martinez.
The three officers that Martinez hit were all taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition, the NYPD said.
A police spokesman couldn't provide further details on them.
He hadn't been charged as of Friday morning, police said.
