New York correctional officers equipped with assault rifles arrest aggressive driver who follows them

New York City corrections officers, armed with assault rifles, stopped a motorist who was following them and driving erratically on a Queens parkway, video seen by Daily News broadcasts.

The officers, assigned to the Corrections Department’s Emergency Services Unit, were driving on Grand Central Parkway with a suspect when the driver began following them closely around 10 a.m. Tuesday, officials said.

The aggressive driver weaved into traffic and even parked in front of his dark blue pickup truck and braked unsafely, sources said.

The officers in the van stopped in front of the car, which had paper or “ghost” plates, and forced it to stop in the median near Forest Hills, where the motorist and at least one correctional officers got into a heated exchange.

Cellphone video taken inside the private car shows two corrections officers who came out to confront the driver and kept the muzzles of their assault rifles pointed at the ground throughout the encounter.

“Stop following us,” a correctional officer shouted repeatedly.

“Why, why, why, all of you, corrections. You don’t shoot anyone,” the arrested driver shouts in the video. “I went to Rikers Island. You won’t shoot anyone. You are not the police. I have my rights. You don’t shoot anyone! »

The man then yelled “Sk my dk” twice as two other correctional officers looked at him and got back into the van, the video shows. The motorist fled, thus ending the encounter, according to sources.

Corrections Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said the incident remains under investigation.

“Transporting people in police custody is a security operation,” he said. “Officers must be aware of potential third-party actions that may impact the safety of officers, detained persons, and the public during the operation, including vehicles following or pursuing department vehicles. »

As of June 2023, the Corrections Department was criticized for spending at least $90,000 on assault rifles while cutting $17 million in prison programs. In March, the Adams administration announced it was restoring $14 million of the budget cuts.