Police: Driver Threw Molotov Cocktail, Chemical Substance at Officers

A driver threw a Molotov cocktail at New York City police on Saturday morning and splashed another officer in the face with a liquid chemical during separate incidents, police said.

The incident took place around 8:00 a.m. Saturday morning in Brooklyn when the police pulled over a 44-year-old man for running a red light, CBS New York reported.

When the police ask the driver if he had his license and registration, the suspect says no, according to police bodycam video.

Today, a vehicle stop for running a red light proved once again that no traffic enforcement is “routine.” When approached, the driver doused a cop with a chemical before fleeing, tossing a Molotov cocktail — and finally being arrested. Fortunately, our officers weren’t injured. pic.twitter.com/WBDt89b7F6

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 17, 2021

The video showed the man then allegedly throwing bleach in the officer’s face before fleeing the scene.

Moments later, other NYPD officers were able to stop the vehicle. The suspect then allegedly tossed a lit Molotov cocktail at them. The bottle bounced off the police cruiser and broke when it crashed into the street.

When cops in Brooklyn stopped a car this AM for running a red light, the driver threw a chemical at our officer before speeding off. Stopped again, the driver threw a lit Molotov cocktail at cops & fled before crashing. The man was arrested & more Molotov cocktails were recovered pic.twitter.com/gQPrADEKJI

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 17, 2021

The man then sped away and crashed a short distance later.

Police officers were then able to arrest him. They were also able to recover more Molotov cocktails from the suspect’s car.

The officer who was splashed in the face with the chemical was taken to a hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.

The suspect has been identified as Lionel Virgile, of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The NYPD, the U.S. attorney’s office, and the FBI are investigating the incident. Virgile could potentially face federal “weapons of mass destruction” charges, NBC New York reported.