The New Rochelle man arrested for opening fire on police during a broad-daylight chase through Yonkers has been charged with the attempted murder of an FBI task force officer, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Darren Smith, 24, is charged with one count of attempting to murder a federal officer, one count of using a deadly weapon to interfere with a federal officer’s duties and one count of firing a gun in the course of a crime of violence, prosecutors said.
Just before 4 p.m. Friday, cops from the Yonkers PD tried to pull over Smith, who was driving a car with Virginia license plates, after they witnessed him allegedly commit a number of traffic infractions, court records show.
Smith, a convicted felon with a history of gun charges, allegedly refused to pull over and took off — forcing cops to send a call for assistance in pulling him over, according to a criminal complaint and the YPD.
The FBI task force officer, a Yonkers detective who’s been deputized to act as an FBI special agent since 2009, is part of the Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and decided to assist with the takedown after hearing the call for assistance, records show.
After about three minutes, Smith ditched his car and started running through the bustling Getty Square area with a .45-caliber Glock-37 in his hand as five Yonkers cops and the task force officer chased after him, according to the YPD and records.
They tried to take him down with a Taser, but the use of force failed, so the task force officer tried to rip the gun from Smith’s right hand, sending him to the ground, where he wrestled for control, according to the YPD and records.
Smith then started firing in the busy area, sending members of the public, including a woman with a stroller and a boy on a bicycle, scrambling for cover, YPD’s Commissioner John Mueller previously said.
As the task force officer, identified in court records only as “Victim-1,” tried to snatch the gun, Smith kept firing and then allegedly turned his right arm and hand toward the task force officer so the gun would be pointed at him and then fired again, records show.
The officer fractured his right index finger, suffered several abrasions on his right hand and sprained his right knee during the takedown and was taken to an area hospital for treatment as Smith was eventually arrested.
Four shell casings were found at the scene, as well as a bullet hole in the driver’s door of the task force officer’s FBI vehicle, records show.
Mueller praised all of the officers’ response to the crime and how they managed to take Smith down without firing a single shot from their own guns, even as they were under fire.
“As this was one of the most depraved and reckless acts I have witnessed in my 28 years in law enforcement, the response by our Yonkers Police Officers was also one of the most heroic and selfless acts I have witnessed in my career,” Mueller said in a statement.
“As Yonkers Police Commissioner, I could not be prouder of the officers and supervisors that God has blessed me to work with.”
