Cops: Fla. man arrested after scuffle with officer

A Miami man was arrested and charged with assault, drug possession and child endangerment after he scuffled with an officer who saw him parking his car in a handicap parking spot Sunday afternoon in New Hyde Park, police said.

Joel G. Daguillard, 31, of Miami, was charged with second-degree assault, two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, criminal possession of marijuana and unlawful possession of marijuana. He is scheduled for arraignment Monday in First District Court in Hempstead, police said.

Nassau County police said a Third Precinct officer saw Daguillard parking in a handicap parking space on Hillside Avenue just before 3:30 p.m. Sunday and said that, when the officer approached, he saw that two children in car, aged 6 and 2, were not properly restrained in safety seats -- and there was marijuana on the front seat.

The officer then asked Daguillard to step from the vehicle, police said, but he refused.

He became involved in a struggle with the officer, who suffered a lacerated finger that police said required stitches.

The two children were later placed in the custody of their mother, police said.