A Rochester teen was arraigned Tuesday in Erie County Court in connection with a police chase that seriously injured a Buffalo Police officer.
Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said the 16-year-old male suspect was arraigned on two felonies: Assault on a Peace Officer, Police Officer, Firefighter, or Emergency Medical Services Professional, plus Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle.
Flynn said, at around 1 p.m. on June 3, Buffalo Police officer Jonathon Negron responded to a 911 call of four individuals with a gun in a van at Crossman Avenue and Heminway Street, near the Cheektowaga border. Negron encountered the van on Genesee Street. An ensuing chase ended when the pursued vehicle crashed into two other vehicles and a utility pole along Harlem Road near Mafalda Drive in Cheektowaga.
The utility pole crashed down on the Buffalo Police vehicle, seriously injuring Negron. He was kept in an induced coma for over a week, hospitalized for more than a month and is now recuperating at home.
The four individuals were apprehended after a brief foot chase and no weapon was found.
The arraigned teen will return to court on August 25 and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
