HollyMatkinNew York, NY – Police are searching for the driver of a black Mercedes-Benz C63 that ran head-on into a police officer in Times Square on Saturday night (video below).
New York Police Department (NYPD) Officer Ian Wallace, 26, was struck by the Mercedes and sustained minor injuries to his back and legs, WCBS reported.
The incident took place in the area of Broadway and West 43rd Street, near a NYPD substation, at approximately 11:45 p.m., the New York Post reported.
Kiefer Dixon, who described himself as a photographer and model, recorded the assault on his cell phone as he rode on a longboard, and streamed the events on Instagram live. He has since deleted the post.
In the video, a trail of smoke billowed behind the Mercedes as it roared down the busy street with its tires spinning.
When the vehicle stopped at an intersection outside the substation, Officer Wallace approached the car on foot with his hand raised, and attempted to speak with the driver.
The driver tried to move the car past Officer Wallace, who remained in front of it with his hands on the hood.
The car struck the officer and pushed him backwards into the intersection. Then the Mercedes accelerated as Officer Wallace tried to move out of the way.
The officer was dragged by the vehicle for a short distance before the car sideswiped him and threw him onto the pavement.
The video continued to record as Officer Wallace and other NYPD officers pursued the reckless driver on foot.
“They got guns drawn, man,” Dixon said in the recording.
“Get that car! Get the car!” an officer yelled.
The driver of the Mercedes refused to stop, and hit several other vehicles in the area before he disappeared, the New York Post reported.
“Yo, that son just sideswiped all these cars,” Dixon said. “He made it out [of] Times Square.”
Investigators said they have a partial plate from the Mercedes, and that the driver may have been a part of a gathering of car club members that were in the area, WCBS reported.
Officer Wallace said he believed there were three or four passengers in the vehicle.
No shots were fired at the suspect vehicle, police said.
Dixon, who claimed he did not know the driver, did not initially receive credit for the now-viral video.
“The s**t got out…without my permission,” he told the New York Post, as he explained how someone must have recorded his live broadcast and redistributed it as their own.
Incredibly, Dixon defended the Mercedes driver, and blamed Officer Wallace for the events that transpired.
“I’ve seen police come up to cars before — they come up nice and slow pace, not charging at them. They give the cars a ticket or tell them to relax,” he told the New York Post. “This cop ran out to the street, yelling at the guy and whatnot … The guy didn’t want to pull over, I guess … A cop on your hood with his gun drawn? I wouldn’t wanna be sitting there, either.”
But in the video, Officer Wallace clearly drew his weapon after the Mercedes began to run him down.
Dixon marveled at the Mercedes driver’s skills, and seemed to be quite enamored with his daring escape.
He took down the video he’d posted, and posted a message to his followers that implied he’d done so because didn’t want to have to help the police in their investigation.
In his post, Dixon claimed he’d been in danger and had no reason to try to protect the driver of the Mercedes from the police.
Officer Wallace has been with the NYPD for four and a half years, WCBS reported.
He has been released from the hospital, and was expected to make a full recovery.
You can see the video of the incident below: