A Manhattan man was sentenced to six years in prison this month after being convicted of running over an NYPD officer’s leg during a high-speed chase through the Fordham section of the Bronx in 2021, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced.
Usman Haruna, 27, was found guilty by a jury on March 12, 2025, of second-degree assault and several other charges stemming from the dangerous pursuit, which was captured on body-worn camera footage. Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio handed down the sentence on May 7, ordering six years in prison and three years of post-release supervision for the assault charge, along with shorter concurrent sentences for related offenses.
“For over a mile and half, the driver weaved in and out of traffic, ran red lights and stop signs, and put the lives of drivers and pedestrians at risk,” Clark said. “After crashing his car, he attacked an NYPD Officer who entered his vehicle, then accelerated and drove over her, injuring her. The defendant now faces the consequences of his callous disregard for an officer’s life.”
According to the investigation, the incident took place on Dec. 12, 2021, when Haruna refused to pull over during a traffic stop near 194th Street and Marion Avenue. Instead, he led police on a reckless chase through city streets, at times swerving into oncoming traffic, blowing through red lights and stop signs, and even steering onto the sidewalk. He then crashed the vehicle.
When police finally approached the car in an attempt to turn the vehicle off, Haruna punched one officer who tried to shift the car into park. He then pushed another officer out of the driver’s seat as she opened the door, hit the accelerator, and drove over her hip and leg before crashing into another car. The injured officer suffered a fractured ankle.
In addition to the assault conviction, Haruna was sentenced to 364 days for unlawfully fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, 364 days for resisting arrest, 180 days and a $350 fine for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, and a $300 fine for reckless driving. All sentences will run concurrently.
