(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Steven Vazquez, 22, of Bay Shore, was indicted for Attempted Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, and related charges, for allegedly stabbing a Suffolk County Police Officer who had responded to reports of car break-ins in Amityville.
“Our harshest penalties are reserved for those who violently assault police officers,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This alleged crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
According to the investigation, on May 6, 2025, at around 1:06 a.m., the officer and his partner were canvassing an area for an individual dressed in all black with a ski mask who was reported to have been breaking into vehicles. The officers located an individual matching the description hiding underneath a black pick-up truck parked in the driveway of a residence on Gibbs Road in Amityville. That individual was allegedly Vazquez.
The officer’s partner approached the driver’s side of the black pick-up truck and indicated to the officer that someone was exiting from underneath the truck on the passenger side. The officer then ran to the other side of the truck when Vazquez allegedly came out from underneath the truck armed with a knife and lunged at him.
Vazquez allegedly slashed the officer on the neck and chin area and then stabbed him on his upper right leg and groin area. Vazquez then allegedly refused to follow police commands and violently resisted arrest to such an extent that the officer’s partner had to deploy a taser to subdue him.
It was necessary to apply a tourniquet to the officer’s right leg before he was transported to Good Samaritan University Hospital by his partner in their marked patrol unit. The officer was treated for his injuries and required stitches to close the wound on his chin and neck area. Vazquez was taken into custody at the scene.
On May 20, 2025, Vazquez was arraigned on the indictment before, Acting Supreme Court Justice Richard I. Horowitz, for the following charges contained in the indictment:
- One count of Attempted Aggravated Assault Upon a Police Officer, a Class C violent felony;
- One count of Attempted Assault in the First Degree, a Class C violent felony;
- Two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies;
- One count of Menacing a Police Officer, a Class D violent felony; and
- One count of Resisting Arrest, a Class A misdemeanor.
Justice Horowitz ordered Vazquez remanded during the pendency of the case. Vazquez is due back in court on July 1, 2025, and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count. He is being represented by the Legal Aid Society.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Amanda Scheier of the Major Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective John Dunleavy of the Suffolk County Police Department’s First Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.