Suffolk police shoot man holding sword in North Bay Shore, commissioner says

Suffolk County police officers shot a man Tuesday afternoon in a North Bay Shore neighborhood after he emerged from a home with a sword and refused commands to drop it, the police said.

The 33-year-old man, identified as Joseph Restaino, a resident of the home who allegedly had called 911, suffered at least one gunshot wound to the torso and was being treated at South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore late Tuesday, according to the police. 

The two officers involved were also being evaluated at a hospital, said Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina at the scene Tuesday afternoon.

The shooting was the second in two weeks in the neighborhood involving an armed suspect and Suffolk police. In the early morning hours of July 24, a police officer was shot in the face and wounded serving a search warrant in connection with a homicide the day before.

Officers from the Third Precinct involved in Tuesday's shooting had responded to a 911 call allegedly placed from the home by Restaino, who Catalina said has "a history of mental illness."

The commissioner added that Restaino said he was "holding hostages and threatening violence and possible suicide."

When the officers arrived at the man's home and knocked on his door, he appeared holding a large, sheathed sword, Catalina said.

Restaino refused the officers' commands to drop the sword, according to Catalina and a subsequent department news release.

"A Taser was deployed with additional commands to drop the sword," the release states. "The Taser was not effective and Restaino did not comply with police. At least one officer discharged their weapon, striking Restaino."

Police did not specify the number of shots fired. There were no other injuries reported and no hostages taken, police said.

Catalina did not provide an update on the man's condition but said he was "alert and conscious" while officers rendered aid and made "indications that he was suicidal."

Audio and video of the shooting was captured on body-worn cameras, according to Catalina.

Less than two weeks ago and about five blocks southwest of Tuesday's shooting, a Suffolk police officer, also from the Third Precinct, was shot in the face while executing a search warrant at the home of a man accused of killing Eugene Allen, 66, of Brentwood. Police said Nieves F. Reyes, 48, of Bay Shore, was arrested and charged in connection with the officer's shooting as well as the killing of Allen.

Reyes pleaded not guilty Friday in Riverhead to second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder of a police officer.

An 18-year-old resident of the neighborhood said Tuesday she heard the gunfire from both shootings.

"Sometimes you're scared to go outside, you never know what's going to happen," the resident said, asking that Newsday not disclose her name because of fear for her safety.

"It's crazy, you hear these stories ... But you don't really hear stories in North Bay Shore like this," she said. "Now I feel like the crime is getting worse."