Hit and Run Leads to Assaulting Police Officer, Resisting Arrest

A Massachusetts man was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest after officers caught up with him following an alleged drunken driving hit and run.

Verona police said they were called to a car accident at the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Mount Prospect Avenue at 7:41 p.m. on Monday, May 6.

Additional officers were called in to help search for a white Mercedes, which had left the scene of the accident, police said. The Mercedes was found and stopped in the area of Birdseye Glen.

When the driver, later identified as Michael Ginis of Newton, Massachusetts, was pulled over, police smelled alcohol on his breath, according to Verona Police.

Ginis allegedly refused to perform a field sobriety test and pushed an officer away from him before being handcuffed and arrested after a short scuffle, police said.

On the way to the police station, Ginis broke the window of the police car with his foot, said Verona Police Chief Douglas Huber.

Ginis was processed and released from police headquarters after posting bail.

He faces charges of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, driving while intoxicated, refusal to submit to sobriety test, driving while intoxicated in a school zone and leaving the scene of an accident, police said.