Police: 2 NYS troopers injured after being assaulted by DWI driver

Two New York State Troopers suffered minor injuries when police said a driver assaulted them during a field sobriety test early Sunday on the Sunken Meadow Parkway in Commack.

Police said the driver, Francis D. Garofalo, 55, of Commack, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, resisting arrest and second-degree assault.

Police said the troopers, assigned to the Brentwood barracks, stopped the 2020 Mercedes-Benz G30 on the northbound Sunken Meadow Parkway at 12:50 a.m. and were conducting a standard field sobriety test when Garofalo "became combative" and "assaulted both troopers, striking one in the eye and spraining the wrist of another," before the troopers were able to place him in custody. The troopers were treated for their injuries at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore and were later released, police said.

Records show Garofalo was arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Central Islip and was released on his own recognizance. He is scheduled to appear again Monday.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”