Driver arrested after fleeing traffic stop, dragging cop near Green Acres Mall, police say

A woman was arrested Thursday near Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream after she allegedly drove away from a police traffic stop, dragging an officer during the getaway, according to the Nassau County Police Department.

Charges against the woman, Charmaine Norville, 47, of Irvington, New Jersey, include reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing a police officer and driving without a valid license, police said in a news release Friday.

At an arraignment later in the day at First District Court in Hempstead, she was ordered jailed on bail, according to Joseph Megale, Norville's court-appointed attorney. The amount wasn't listed in the online court database. He declined to comment otherwise.

Thursday’s incident happened at about 1:50 p.m. when an officer stopped the driver of a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta near Green Acres Road West for an expired inspection sticker, missing front license plate and an unregistered rear plate, the release said.

"She refused numerous times to comply with the officer’s requests and then drove away with the front driver’s side door still open," the release said. "As a result, an officer was dragged by the car causing him to sustain multiple injuries."

 A court charging document provided by the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office says that, when confronted, she turned the vehicle off and put the keys on the passenger seat.

One of the two officers involved in the stop, William D. Depalo, told her to get out of the vehicle and apparently opened the front door. The two officers "then reached into the vehicle to assist defendant with exiting the vehicle," the document says.

"Defendant refused to exit the vehicle, reached over to the passenger seat, grabbed the keys, put them into the ignition, started the engine and put the vehicle in drive," the document states, and she drove away "with the front drivers door still open, pulling and dragging Officer O'Brien who was still in contact with the vehicle." 

She sped away and nearly struck a pedestrian before stopping on nearby Sunrise Highway, according to the police release, which did not say whether an additional officer or officers pursued her or whether it was the initial officer who was dragged who did so.

That officer, identified in the court charging document only as Officer O’Brien, was brought to a hospital "for treatment and evaluation," the release said. He injured his left knee, hip and shoulder, the document says. No update on the officer’s condition was provided. 

A study of suspects’ perceptions, commissioned by the National Institute of Justice, found that of those who fled police, 32% were driving a stolen vehicle, 27% had a suspended license, 27% sought to avoid arrest and 21% were driving under the influence.

By Matthew Chayes

[email protected]chayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.