Injured Nassau cop to testify in driver's DWI trial
Nassau County Police Officer Kenneth Baribault is expected to testify Tuesday in the criminal trial of the drunken driver accused of striking his patrol cruiser, leaving him paralyzed more than a year after the crash.
Rahiem Griffin, 28, of Shirley, stands accused of crashing his Mercedes-Benz into the rear of Baribault's cruiser as the officer was involved in a traffic stop on the shoulder of the Long Island Expressway in Plainview on May 18, 2008.
Prosecutors from the Nassau County district attorney's office said Griffin was drunk when his car blasted into the cruiser.
Griffin was charged with second-degree assault, which carries a maximum sentence of 7 years, as well as other charges. He is being tried in Mineola.
Last week Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said of Griffin, who was driving with a suspended license: "What he did was beyond reckless. He shouldn't even have been on the road, never mind after drinking."
The attorney for Griffin, Gerard Brogdon of Jamaica, said last Monday that Griffin accepts some responsibility for what happened, but that prosecutors have charged him with a crime more serious than the one he committed.
The crash left Baribault paralyzed on the right side of his body and he can speak only in single syllables, his sister said.
Prosecutors Monday said they expect to call Baribault to the witness stand on Tuesday.
Posted Tuesday, June 9, 2009
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