A Manhattan man was arrested for stabbing an off-duty NYPD officer in a dramatic struggle sparked after he was confronted for allegedly stealing items from a car overnight on Long Island, police said.
Two off-duty officers spotted the suspect, Royal Hooks, 27, around 1:05 a.m. Thursday getting into a parked car in a driveway of a suburban Lindenhurst neighborhood, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.
The two men approached Hooks, on 40th Street, near Buffalo Avenue, but he immediately ran off, cops said.
They followed Hooks, chasing after him for several hundred yards — and when they caught up to him, he allegedly stabbed one of the officers in the leg during the struggle, according to police.
The two off-duty cops ultimately got the upper hand, holding Hooks down until other officers arrived to arrest him, authorities said.
Cops said Hooks had stolen “several items” from the parked vehicle, and photos from the scene showed objects strewn in the street.
A knife was recovered at the scene, police sources said.
The injured 28-year-old off-duty officer was taken to a nearby hospital in stable condition and treated for the knife wound, cops said.
Hooks was charged with second degree assault, as well as petit larceny.
A Suffolk County spokesperson could not immediately provide a description of the stolen items.
Hooks was expected to be arraigned in Central Islip District Court later Thursday.
He lives in the Lower East Side at a building on Pearl Street managed by NYCHA, according to police.
It wasn’t immediately clear what he was doing in Lindenhurst.