The alleged victim, who initially reported the suspect was on the loose, provided the two responding police officers with a detailed description of the assailant, who they later encountered while canvassing the area around 185-31 Ilion St. in South Jamaic
The two plainclothes officers, a man and a woman, encountered Radcliffe Meeks, 33, of 182-21 N. Conduit on the corner of Elmira Avenue and Dunkirk Street, according to police. After the officers identified themselves to Meeks, a struggle ensued between him and the officers during which the male officer was slashed on the left side of his face from his throat to his ear with a carpet knife, authorities said.The woman officer fired a round of shots, hitting Meeks in the right elbow, police said.The wounded officer was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and Meeks to Mary Immaculate Hospital, and they were both listed in stable condition, authorities said. The female police officer was unharmed.”We were one inch Ð one inch Ð away from tragedy,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at Jamaica Hospital Tuesday night, according to his spokesman. “If the knife had cut slightly differently, it would have cut the jugular.”Police recovered a carpet knife at the scene of the incident.The two police officers were not identified, but reports said they were part of the narcotics squad. The male officer was a five-year veteran, and the female officer had 11 years of experience.Meeks was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon Tuesday, police said. Reports said that Meeks had had two prior arrests for assaulting a police officer.
