Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - A Town of Tonawanda Police Officer is in stable condition at Erie County Medical Center after he was injured during a traffic stop for a stolen vehicle. Police have charged an 19-year-old man in connection with the incident.
At approximately 8 p.m. ET on Monday, Tonawanda Police initiated a traffic stop for a vehicle that allegedly drove through a red light at the intersection of Sheridan Drive and Sheridan-Parkside Drive. The vehicle, a 2019 Kia Sportage, had been reported stolen earlier that day from the Village of East Aurora.
It was during the traffic stop when the stolen vehicle fled the scene at a high rate of speed, dragging and seriously injuring Officer David Piatek, a two-year veteran of the Town of Tonawanda Police Department.
"At some point, the driver, allegedly, decided that he didn't want to hang out any longer, and put his foot on the gas pedal and accelerated forward," said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn on the incident. "Instinctively, I guess, the officer on the driver's side put his hands on the top of the door, because the window was rolled down all the way. He grabbed the door, but almost immediately thereafter, the car accelerated with the officer holding on for dear life, and continued at a high rate of speed to go down Sheridan-Parkside a good distance, by the way. Then at some point, the officer was no longer able to hang on and, allegedly, fell to the ground, and sustained some serious injuries."
Piatek was transported to ECMC and remains in the intensive care unit of the hospital listed in stable condition with serious physical injuries.
At around 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Town of Tonawanda Police arrested Dareious Akbar of the City of Buffalo. He was arraigned in Town of Tonawanda Court and charged with:
- Attempted Murder in the Second Degree (Class "B" felony)
- Aggravated Assault in the First Degree (Class "B" felony)
- Assault in the First Degree (Class "B" felony)
- Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree (Class "D" felony)
"The officer had on his body cam footage, and with the body cam footage, we were able to get a pretty good video, see the driver the car," Flynn detailed. "The Tonawanda Police Department did a great job in figuring out who that individual was through great detective work, and were able to find him and arrest him. Then he was arraigned [Tuesday] night in Tonawanda court."
Akbar was remanded to the Erie County Holding Center, and is scheduled to appear in Town of Tonawanda Court on Monday, June 5 at 11 a.m. ET for a felony hearing.
Flynn says the legal theory on the Attempted Murder charge is he recklessly engaged in conduct that showed a "depraved indifference to human life."
"That depraved indifference was knowing there was a Tonawanda Police Officer who was hanging on the car for his dear life while he was accelerating down a street. To me, that is a depraved indifference to human life, and that is why he was charged accordingly," he said.
If convicted of the highest charge, Akbar faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
However, this is not Akbar's first run in with law enforcement for vehicle-related and other crimes, as noted by the Erie County District Attorney's Office.
Akbar is currently pending sentence for another crime involving a vehicle theft he pleaded guilty for back on April 11 of this year. He pleaded guilty to one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (Class "E" felony) and faces up to four years in prison when he is sentenced on Thursday, July 6 at 2 p.m. ET. before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case. Akbar was released on his own recognizance.
It was back on Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022 at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET when Buffalo Police saw the defendant driving a stolen 2021 Kia Soul, Westbound on Seneca Street. The defendant abandoned the vehicle on Tamarack Street and attempted to flee on foot. He was arrested a short time later in the area of Abbott Road and Athol Street.
The District Attorney's Office will file a bail motion to request the Court revoke his release and remand the defendant, who is accused of committing another felony offense while pending sentence for a felony conviction.
The defendant also has additional pending cases in the Town of Amherst and City of Lackawanna.
It is alleged that on Sept. 15, 2022, a 2019 Dodge Ram was reported stolen from the Town of Hamburg. Other nearby residents also reported that items were stolen from their parked vehicles. The defendant is accused of being in possession of the stolen vehicle and using the victims' debit card and credit cards to make various unauthorized purchases in the Town of Amherst.
Following an investigation by the Amherst Police Department, an arrest warrant was issued for Akbar on, or about April 28, 2023.
Akbar was arrested on Tuesday, May 23, 2023. The following morning, he was arraigned before Amherst Town Court Justice Kara Buscaglia on one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Third Degree (Class "D" felony) and four counts of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree (Class "E" felonies). Akbar was released on his own recognizance as the charges are non-qualifying offenses for bail.
Akbar is scheduled to return to Amherst Town Court for a felony hearing on Thursday, June 8, 2023 at 10 a.m. ET.
"We have these kids out there who are repeat offenders, they're not qualifying offenses. The only way we can get them held on bail is if you're pending a felony and you commit another felony," Flynn said. "He already pled guilty in April to a felony, but the case that he was arraigned on last week actually occurred before that count there. I couldn't even keep him in on that pending felony statute, so he had to be released out of Amherst last week. It's frustrating here that there's repeat offenders out there, and they're committing these crimes."
It is further alleged that on Sunday, April 16, 2023 at approximately 4:35 p.m. ET, the defendant, with the intent to place or attempt to place another person in reasonable fear, pointed, what appeared to be, a black handgun at the victim. Officers allegedly recovered a black BB gun during the investigation.
Akbar was charged with one count of Menacing in the Second Degree (Class "A" misdemeanor). As the charge is a non-qualifying offense, he was given an appearance ticket to be arraigned at a later date. The defendant failed to appear for the arraignment on Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
Akbar is now scheduled to be arraigned in Lackawanna City Court on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.
Erie County District Attorney
