STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A Manhattan man is facing a slew of felony charges, including first- and second-degree attempted murder, following a police pursuit that ended with three NYPD officers in the hospital and the defendant under arrest , police say. Divante Pitt, 31, of the 400 block of East 30th Street, was arraigned in Richmond County Criminal Court in St. George Wednesday on various charges of criminal use of a firearm, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, possession of ammunition, reckless endangerment, unlawful fleeing of police officers and an assortment of traffic violations, according to court documents. In the criminal complaint, police say that on Sunday, May 11, at approximately 7:30 p.m. officers in an unmarked NYPD vehicle observed a 2009 Nissan Murano run a red light in the vicinity of Forest and Union avenues while driving straight in a left turning lane. As officers activated lights and sirens and began pursuing the vehicle, the driver, who police allege to be Pitt, continued driving a circuitous route through Staten Island streets, before eventually turning onto Port Richmond Avenue, the complaint says. The complaint further alleges that as the Nissan approached 290 Port Richmond Ave., Pitt fired several shots from a handgun at a marked NYPD vehicle, striking it multiple times. Two officers were inside the vehicle when the Nissan then sideswiped it, causing it to mount the sidewalk, the complaint says. The officers did not return fire and Pitt was taken into custody, a police spokesperson said. In the wake of the collision, one of the officers suffered a shoulder injury, while a second experienced multiple arm injuries, and a third sustained a knee injury, the complaint says. All three officers were transported in stable condition for evaluation to an area hospital. Pitt was also transported to an area hospital for an undisclosed medical emergency, according to an NYPD spokesperson. Following the issuance of a search warrant, police recovered a black Taurus PTIIIG2 pistol with nine rounds of .9 caliber ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber from the passenger-side floor of the Nissan. Additionally, a Glock 27.40 caliber pistol was found on the driver’s seat of the vehicle, the complaint says. NYPD records show that Pitt does not hold a license to carry or possess a firearm in New York and that he was convicted of felony criminal possession of a weapon in 2017. He was sentenced at that time to six years in prison, the complaint says. Pitt pleaded not guilty Wednesday and was remanded without bail. An attorney for Pitt could not be immediately reached for comment.
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