Nassau cop killed by colleague in 1976

Nearly 35 years ago, a Nassau police officer was accidentally shot and killed by a colleague struggling with a stolen car suspect.

It was the last time a Nassau cop was fatally wounded by another officer until Saturday night.

On Nov. 14, 1976, a State Parkway police officer's revolver went off, hitting Nassau Officer George Kempen, who was just getting out of his car to assist in the arrest.

The shooting occurred on Meadowbrook Road in North Merrick -- the same street on which Kempen lived with his wife and young son.

Parkway Police Officer Richard Kash had chased the suspect's car from the Southern State Parkway to the Meadowbrook Parkway and onto the local street.

Kash told the suspect, high school student Christopher Duran, to put his hands up. The 18-year-old charged at him and Kash's revolver discharged, police said.

Kempen, 38, and a 15-year police veteran, was struck in the chest from 30 feet away.

The scene "was commotion and turmoil," Nassau Police Lt. Arthur Buxbaum told Newsday that evening.

Police had first tried to stop the car because of a broken taillight, but soon learned the car had been reported stolen from a Massapequa Park resident.

Fearing the driver might be armed, State Parkway Police called Nassau police to join the chase, which lasted 15 minutes before the suspect was forced to pull over. Duran was not injured and was later arrested.