A New York City woman is facing major charges after running over an NYPD officer with her car on purpose on Wednesday afternoon.
Sahara Dula, 24, of Brooklyn, was charged with first-degree attempted assault, attempted aggravated assault upon a police officer, second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment and operating a vehicle while ability impaired by drugs and reckless driving, according to Fox News.
The incident occurred as Dula was driving the wrong way. The cop ordered her to pull over. Instead of obeying his request to stop, she accelerated, hitting the officer, which caused him to roll onto the hood of the car and land on the street. He ended up with a fractured leg and sustained bruises over his body but is expected to recover.
While in custody, Dula told investigators that she ran over the officer on purpose.
“I told the cop I wanted to go straight, and he wouldn’t move, so I hit him,” Dula told investigators. “I did it on purpose.”
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry believes that Dula got off too easy, stating she should have received harsher charges.
“We’re glad that this individual is being kept in jail, but we don’t understand why she isn’t being charged with attempted murder,” Hendry told reporters.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry is wondering the same thing.
“We don’t understand why she isn’t being charged with attempted murder… She tried to run down and kill a NYC police officer. She proudly admits it, but she still isn’t facing the maximum…
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 19, 2024
“She tried to run down and kill a New York City police officer. She proudly admits it, but she still isn’t facing the maximum penalty. This kind of leniency has led to thousands of police officers being attacked and injured,” Hendry added.
“We’re not going to let this case become just another statistic. We will be following up to ensure that a message is sent — if you attack and injure a New York City police officer, you are going to face the full force of the law,” he continued.
This is not Dula’s first run-in with law enforcement. According to the New York Post, in 2020, she reportedly failed to stop at an intersection in Henniker, struck another vehicle and fled the scene. She was also arrested and charged with assault after an incident at Concord Hospital in Concord, New Hampshire.
Dula was also arrested in March 2022 for criminal mischief and allegedly destroying property.
The ironic part is that Dula runs her own company, mentoring kids on Saturdays in an attempt to keep them off the streets and away from drugs and gangs, according to her lawyer. She is also reportedly a BLM activist.
At Friday’s arraignment, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Lucy Shephard reported that Dula “admitted to smoking marijuana.”
Her bail was set at $25,000.
This incident makes the third NYPD officer injured on the job in a week.
