Suffolk officer stabbed, attacker Taiquell Woodson killed in Bay Shore, police say

A police officer shot a man dead in Bay Shore on Saturday after he charged at officers in the snow and stabbed one of them several times during a domestic-dispute call, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. 

The man, Taiquell Woodson, 33, had been armed with a large knife, according to department officials. The stabbed officer's wounds were not life-threatening, said the chief of critical care at Stony Brook University Hospital, where the officer had been airlifted from another hospital.

Three officers in all were taken to the Stony Brook hospital — two of them for observation, the officials said — and all were treated and released. None of the officers' names were released. Each has been on the force for less than two years, the officials said.

The shooting unfolded at a home in the 1100 block of Udall Road at 9:10 a.m., acting Suffolk County police Commissioner Robert Waring said at a news conference at the Stony Brook hospital Saturday afternoon.

It happened after officers responded to a call for a domestic dispute, Waring said.

He said two officers approached the front door of the home. When one of the officers opened a screen door, Woodson charged at the officer with the knife.

“The officer retreated and fell into the snow on the front yard,” Waring said. “Woodson jumps on top of him with a knife and starts stabbing the officer, clearly trying to kill him.”

Woodson stabbed the officer in the right arm and also attempted to stab the officer in the chest but was unable to penetrate the cop’s bulletproof vest, according to Waring.

After another officer deployed a Taser, "which was unsuccessful," a third officer fired his weapon and hit Woodson, according to Waring and the police account.

First responders provided CPR to Woodson, who was taken to South Shore University Hospital, where he was declared dead, Waring said.

Police: Shooting was 'justified'

A tourniquet was applied to the injured officer, Waring said. That officer, who has been on the force for 1½ years, was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital before being airlifted to Stony Brook, Waring said.

“This incident occurred in five seconds. I want to be clear — this was a justified shooting,” Waring said. “Without the decisive actions of our officers, one of our officers would’ve been killed today.” 

Dr. James Vosswinkel, chief of trauma, emergency surgery and critical care at Stony Brook, said the injured officer had wounds to his hand, both forearms and his face. His wounds are “complex,” Vosswinkel said, adding that there is concern for permanent nerve damage in the officer’s dominant hand. 

“But, we’re very fortunate he’s alive and that these wounds were not life threatening,” he said.

Woodson’s wife, who made the 911 call, said her husband had been acting violently, Waring said. A 1-year-old also was at the home, police said. The family couldn't be reached for comment.

Waring said the encounter Saturday was captured on the officers' body-worn cameras but that footage wouldn't be released now. The police press office did not respond to an inquiry on when it might be.

The office of state Attorney General Letitia James, which investigates certain police shootings, did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether the killing would be examined by her office. Typically, the attorney general's Office of Special Investigation handles cases of deaths caused by police officers.

'It all happened so fast'

At the scene, Suffolk County police had blocked off a section of Udall Road after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots at 9:15 a.m.

Officers set up crime tape at East Lakeland Street and East Belmont Street while investigators gathered in the street in front of the Udall Road home near Krause Street. Two police mobile crime scene lab vehicles were nearby.

Paul LaGrandier, 64, was shoveling snow Saturday morning when, he said, he heard a single gunshot followed by a rapid succession of four shots.

“Bang, bang, bang, bang,” he said. 

Immediately afterward, he dialed 911 to report gunfire, he said. Then he kept shoveling at his Reilly Street home in the neighborhood, where he’s lived since 1967.

He drove closer to the scene after noticing increased traffic on his block and said the area appeared “locked down.”

“We assumed they had the situation under control,” he said. 

Roads remain blocked off as darkness fell Saturday evening.

Theodore Gardner, 23, who lives on nearby East Belmont Street, was shoveling when he heard about five gunshots, he said. Soon after, he saw police vehicles converge on Udall Road from multiple directions.

“It all happened so fast,” he said.

He later saw one officer walking south on Udall Road with blood on his right hand, he said.