A Brooklyn-based detective was accused of driving while intoxicated after accidentally shooting his partner in the wrist, the Queens District Attorney said.
Detective Jay Poggi, 58, saw his license suspended last Thursday after being arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with driving while intoxicated after the alleged accidental shooting, DA Richard Brown said. The complaint detailed a scene in which Poggi, a 31-year veteran with the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, had allegedly taken out his Smith and Wesson .38-caliber revolver to show the gun’s hammer to partner Detective Matthew Sullivan before it went off, striking his right wrist around 2 a.m.
After the incident, Poggi then allegedly drove his partner in his unmarked police car to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where the criminal complaint said he was seen with bloodshot eyes and the stench of alcohol emanating from his breath. Poggi allegedly clocked in a .113 percent field sobriety test score around 3 a.m. at the hospital, well above the .08 percent limit in New York, the district attorney said.
Sullivan suffered a broken bone in his wrist but was listed in stable condition, the NYPD said.
Brown said Poggi and his partner were supposedly on their way to a robbery investigation in Far Rockaway, but instead made a few pit stops in parts of the borough, including Howard Beach. The incident supposedly occurred after Poggi’s shift had ended 1 a.m.
Poggi refused a breathalyzer test at the nearby 112th Precinct in Forest Hills and was released on his own recognizance. His return court date was set for June 16, the DA said.
Brown said his office would be teaming up with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau to investigate the shooting and the duo’s whereabouts throughout the night.
By Phil Corso
