Nassau County, PBA honor officer who stopped alleged crime spree

Janelle Clausen

Nassau County Legislature Presiding Officer Richard Nicollelo and Police Benevolent Association President James McDermott honored a rookie Nassau County police officer on Monday for putting an end to a violent crime in Great Neck in March.

The officer, Michael DiClemente of the 6th Precinct, engaged Michael Ward after he allegedly exited his vehicle with a baseball bat, struck the windows of two cars behind him, and then hit one of the drivers in the head after trying to confront him.

The officer shot and killed the suspect.

Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said the officer, who only recently finished his training in the police academy, showed “great restraint.” DiClemente repeatedly told Ward to drop his weapon, Ryder said, but he ultimately had to use a taser – which only “fazed him a little bit” – and then his firearm.

At one point a civilian got involved to try helping but was struck in the head by the bat, Ryder said.

“The last instruction was to put the bat down and the officer had no other option but to fire and then stop that subject at that location,” Ryder had said.

Nassau County and the PBA recognized DiClemente for his “quick response, attentiveness, and use of training to protect the public from immediate danger.”

Ward was pronounced dead upon arrival at North Shore University Hospital.

The incident took place along the Great Neck and Manhasset border.

Preceding the Great Neck incident, according to the NYPD and news reports, Ward’s spree allegedly began in Bordentown, New Jersey, where he allegedly robbed an individual of a vehicle. He later allegedly robbed a 77-year-old man of $20 and fled in that man’s car before striking and killing a man in Brooklyn two days later.

After that, an NYPD spokesman said, Ward allegedly stole a newspaper deliverywoman’s car before repeatedly punching a man, stealing his car, evading police and ending up in Nassau County driving a Volkswagen.

Ward’s parents had told Newsday that their son, 46, had suffered from bipolar disorder and PTSD since he was 19 years old after witnessing his friend’s death, but was not known for being violent.

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