DUMBO — Two men riding in a group of about 30 motorcyclists and ATV drivers were arrested after one hit a police officer with his motorcycle, causing him to fall off his motorized scooter, and another ran over the same officer with this ATV, breaking his ribs, authorities said.
Graham Curtis, 34, and Jamaal Elder, 32, were arrested shortly after the riders swarmed the road at Hicks and Old Fulton Streets at 5:15 p.m. on Saturday, police said.
Officer Artem Prusayev, 27, was responding to the scene when he was struck by a 2001 Honda motorcycle driven by Elder, causing the officer to get knocked off his motorized scooter, officials said.
Elder drove off after Prusayev fell to the ground, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.
Curtis then ran over the officer with his Yamaha 450R ATV, “making no effort to avoid the [officer] while he was on the ground,” police said.
Prusayev suffered multiple broken ribs and a scraped right arm, police said. He was treated at New York Methodist Hospital for non-life threatening injuries, but was hooked up to a machine to help him breathe, according to authorities.
Additionally, Officer Maxim Maloshag fell off his motorized scooter after being surrounded by the bike gang, causing him to injure his leg, police said. He was also treated for non-life threatening injuries at Methodist Hospital.
Curtis took off from the scene on foot, but police caught up with him around 6 p.m. after a chase that ended on Atlantic Avenue, between Bedford and Nostrand avenues, in Bed-Stuy, prosecutors charge.
A police officer spotted Curtis, who ran off and jumped over a nearby fence, prosecutors said. After a brief struggle, Curtis was arrested and officers found marijuana in his pocket, according to the DA.
Meanwhile, an officer spotted Elder near Sheridan Avenue and Conduit Boulevard in East New York as he was speeding on his motorcycle and riding without a helmet just before 6 p.m., prosecutors said.
Elder’s bike stalled as officers approached, so he jumped on the back of an auxiliary officer's motorcycle, by pushing him off the bike and grabbing the throttle, according to police and the Brooklyn DA. However, Elder dropped the bike before running off, but police caught up with him shortly after.
Prosecutors said he was driving with a revoked license and had no insurance or registration.
Curtis and Elder were each hit with several charges, including reckless driving, reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting it, resisting arrest and trespassing, according to the criminal complaint.
While Curtis has no prior arrests, Elder has previously been arrested 23 times, police said.
Curtis was released on Sept. 19 on $10,000 cash bail, while Elder is being held on $75,000 bond, court records show. Both men are scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Attorneys for both men were not immediately available for comment.
