Off-Duty NYPD Officer Fires Gun at Knife-Wielding Man Who Flees Scene of Southern State Crash: Police

An off-duty NYPD officer fired his gun at a knife-wielding man who fled the scene of a two-car crash on the Southern State Parkway Sunday night, Suffolk Police said.

The man with the knife, 40-year-old Sean Burke, of East Islip, was not struck by the gunfire, police said.

According to police, the NYPD officer, whom police did not identify, stopped to help at the scene of a crash on the Southern State Parkway in Bay Shore at 10:40 p.m. Sunday before state police arrived.

When one of the drivers, later identified as Burke, tried to flee the scene, the officer identified himself as a police officer and told Burke to remain at the scene, police said.

Burke disregarded the officer’s commands and fled on foot, police said.

The officer chased Burke into a nearby neighborhood, and when the two reached the yard of a home on Joan Road in Bay Shore, Burke displayed a knife and approached the officer, police said.

The officer then fired his service weapon at Burke, who then fled the yard, police said.

Burke was found in front of 555 Sunrise Highway North Service Road in West Islip with the knife still in his possession at 1:20 a.m., police said.

He is charged with menacing a police officer and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday.

State police have not released any information on the crash, but there are reports that one person suffered minor injuries.

SCPD photo: Sean Burke