Who is Christopher Racioppo? NYPD cop critical as Jonathan Nunez, 25, stabs him after crashing his Mercedes
SUFFOLK COUNTY, NEW YORK: A police officer was brutally stabbed by a 25-year-old suspect in Patchogue, Suffolk County in New York, after the officer spotted his car for erratic driving. Officer Christopher Racioppo is currently hospitalized in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery.
Jonathan Nunez, the 25-year-old suspect crashed into another car after Officer Racioppo tried to pull him over. The incident happened around 10.40 pm on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at the intersection of South Ocean Avenue and Brook Street in Patchogue. Nunez then stepped out and stabbed the officer in the leg, leaving him nearly unconscious. The attacker was nabbed soon by responding cops with the help of two Good Samaritans.
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Who is Christopher Racioppo?
Officer Christopher Racioppo is a three-year-veteran and a uniformed officer from Suffolk County Police Department Fifth Precinct.
On Saturday night, the suspect Jonathan Nunez was erratically driving his 1999 Mercedes Benz with no headlights, on the southbound South Ocean Avenue. Officer Racioppo, who was driving a marked unit, switched on his overhead lights and pursued Nunez's car, attempting to pull him over. Nunez then reportedly crashed his car into a 2004 Nissan which flipped his vehicle on one side, according to CBS New York.
Violating Officer Racioppo's instructions, the 25-year-old stepped out of his crashed vehicle and engaged in a physical altercation with him. During the tussle, Nunez stabbed Racioppo in the leg in a homeowner's yard near the crash site.
How was he rescued?
Immediately afterward, Suffolk County police officer Taylor Herbst heard about officer Racioppo's stabbing over the radio. "He’s been stabbed and he was losing consciousness," - Herbst raced over to the location within a minute after hearing these words.
Racioppo was found lying unconscious on the ground in a pool of blood. "There was a lot of pooling blood around his left leg, and I knew at this point it was definitely, probably his femoral artery or another vein that was inside, so I had to get a tourniquet on as fast as possible," Officer Herbst later told CBS about his injury. The knife had reportedly protruded three inches into his leg and damaged a major vein, causing him to lose almost a full-body volume of blood.
At the site, he was assisted by Good Samaritan Guillermo Sandoval to help rush Christopher Racioppo to the Stony Brook University Hospital. He underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured artery and was later declared critical. "The doctors, the surgeons up there … had remarked what a miracle it was that he’s even still alive," stated Louis Civello, second vice president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association.
Suffolk County Police Department also issued a formal statement to the public urging everyone to pray for the police officer's recovery.
Meanwhile, the suspect Jonathan Nunez, who hails from 33 Holbrook Road, is facing charges of Aggravated Assault Upon a Police Officer, Driving While Intoxicated and Resisting Arrest.