Alleged Nassau Cop Killer Leaves Hospital

Darrell Fuller

The 33-year-old Queens man suspected of gunning down a Nassau County police officer and a carjacking victim Tuesday was released from the hospital late Wednesday afternoon and taken to police headquarters, police said.

Authorities arrested Fuller Tuesday night following a manhunt that ended when he was discovered near 73th Street and 111th Avenue in Queens with apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds, police said. The ex-convict was taken to the hospital following his arrest. He has yet to be officially charged.

Nassau County police officer Arthur Lopez, 29, a member of the elite Emergency Services Unit, was riding in a vehicle in Bellerose Terrace, near the border of Nassau and Queens with his partner when he spotted a Honda “running on its rims” as it left the scene of an accident Tuesday morning.

After performing a traffic stop, Lopez exited the police car and had a “short exchange of words” with Fuller, before the suspect got out of the car and allegedly shot Lopez in the chest, police said. Lopez was not wearing his bulletproof vest at the time of the incident, police said.

The suspect drove away in the Honda and then allegedly shot and killed Queens resident 52-year-old Raymond Facey during a carjacking on the Cross Island Parkway near Belmont Park Racetrack, authorities said. He then abandoned that vehicle and sparked a manhunt that included more than 100 detectives from Nassau County and the New York Police Department.

Lopez’s partner, Officer Clarence Hudson, tried to help Lopez as the gunman fled, and was hospitalized for trauma following the slaying.

Nassau County Police Officer Arthur Lopez was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Bellrose Terrace on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012.

Lopez’s death came one day after Nassau police buried highway patrolman Joseph Olivieri, who was killed when he was struck by a Cadillac Escalade last week on the Long Island Expressway while assisting an alleged drunk driver.

“It’s a very sad day here in Nassau County as we just buried Police Officer Joseph Olivieri and we stand here today delivering terrible news,” Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano said at a press conference Tuesday night.

“To say that this is a difficult time would be an understatement,” said Nassau Police Benevolent Association President James Carver, adding that Lopez was “full of life, full of energy.”

Lopez, who authorities called a “true hero,” was a highly decorated officer who had earned six meritorious public service awards and three excellent police duty awards, among others.

He also served as a volunteer firefighter with the Dix Hills Fire Department.

Nassau Police Commissioner Tom Dale said Lopez started as a patrol officer in the First Precinct eight years ago and was promoted to ESU in January 2010. He is survived by his mother, father and sister.

Fuller was previously convicted of attempted murder in Queens and selling crack-cocaine in Nassau County, according to authorities.