Man shot in struggle with cops charged

A man who was shot by police during a struggle after he took out a gun has been charged with menacing an officer, Nassau police said.

George J. Towns, 27, was shot in the arm and back Sunday during a confrontation in Inwood with a uniformed police officer and two detectives, said Homicide Det. Lt. John Azzata. His condition at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside was not available Monday night. The two detectives were treated for injuries and released.

Police said they had wanted to question Towns because they believed he may have been at an Inwood house party on Henry Street when shots were fired about 2 a.m. Sunday.

Shortly after 2 p.m. the same day, they saw Towns and a female companion on Mott and West End avenues in Inwood, not far from the scene of the house party, Azzata said.

Towns had his hands in his pocket, and when police asked him to take his hands out for safety reasons, the confrontation escalated, Azzata said.

"The subject eventually removed his hands, pulled a gun from his waistband and a struggle ensued," he said. "During that altercation, the uniform officer fired and struck the subject, Mr. Towns, twice."

Towns ran away and was arrested about two blocks from the scene, Azzata said.

Towns' gun was recovered at the scene, police said.

One of the detectives injured his leg, police said. "In an attempt to get out of the vehicle and take off running, he pulled or tore something in his calf," Azzata said.

The second detective injured her back during the struggle, he said. The uniformed officer was not hurt but was also examined at a hospital and released.

Towns, of 51 Eastwood Lane in Valley Stream and also 491 41st St. in Copiague, was arraigned at his hospital bedside Monday and placed into the custody of the Nassau County Sheriff's Department. Police said other possible charges against him will be presented to a grand jury.

It's not clear what led to shots being fired at the Inwood house party, police said, but Dwight Stephenson, 21, of Far Rockaway, was arrested at the Henry Street house party after a witness saw him putting a gun and rifle into his car. The weapons were recovered by police, and Stephenson was charged with one count of reckless endangerment and three counts of criminal possession of a weapon.