Nassau Man Shot By Officer While Fleeing Arrest: Police

A 34-year-old Uniondale man was shot by a police officer after police say he tried to hit the officer with a car while fleeing a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, a Hempstead Village Police officer tried to pull over a white BMW on Sycamore Avenue in Hempstead at 2:20 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 9. The driver of the car — Kashawn R. Watts, 34, of Henry Street, Uniondale — refused to stop, police said, and fled onto the Southern State Parkway and headed west. Watts exited the parkway at Corona Avenue, turned onto Blakeman Drive and struck multiple cars, police said. The officer had given chase, and police say Watts put the car into reverse and started to drive at the officer. The officer fired one shot from his gun, which hit Watts.

One passenger in the car got out and fled, and was arrested shortly later.

Watts fled the scene in the BMW, police say, and crashed into a street sign on Primrose Place in Valley Stream. Watts and another passenger both got out of the car and fled on foot, according to police. Officers from multiple police agencies responded and established a perimeter around the area.

Watts was found in the backyard of a home on Evergreen Avenue in West Hempstead and placed under arrest. The other man was found on Primrose Place and arrested. Watts was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for his gunshot wound.

Police say they recovered 300 pills the believe to be Oxycodone from Watts. During the arrest, police say Watts resisted and broke the hand of a Nassau County Police officer. The officer was also taken to a hospital for treatment.

Watts is charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and second-degree assault. He will be arraigned when medically practical.