Police department gets back vehicle that was shot at
RED HOOK, N.Y. >> The Red Hook Police Department has gotten back a car that was seized as evidence and impounded after officers were shot at in a November 2019 incident.
The 2019 Dodge Charger, which was struck by gunfire in the incident, has been released by state police.
Village Mayor Ed Blundell said it was fortunate that the vehicle was able to provide protection during the incident.
“One of our ... police cars acted as a shield, but also ... took bullet hits,” he said.
“The commanding officers ... and me were shaken up by what could have happened,” Blundell said. “But our officers were not hit, [and] they arrested the perpetrator down the road with the assistance of ... other agencies.”
The alleged gunman, Keith M. Potik, 26, of Wappingers Falls, pleaded not guilty last month in Dutchess County Court to two counts of attempted murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
Court papers state that Red Hook Officers Travis Sterritt and Natalia Telles were responding to a dispute involving a utility transport trailer that was located at 21 Harvard St. when they spotted Potik walking a dog. As Potik moved away from the officers, the court papers say, he pulled out a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol and began firing at the two officers.
Dutchess County Chief Assistant District Attorney Matthew Weishaupt during a court appearance last month said that at the time Potik was arrested, he was on probation for a 2017 petit larceny charge in the city of Poughkeepsie and had an outstanding arrest warrant for unauthorized operation of a motor vehicle.
Authorities said Potik fired a total of eight rounds at the two officers before fleeing, but information was not immediately available about the number of bullets that struck the Red Hook police vehicle.
Blundell said the vehicle is expected to be repaired but still needs to be assessed for an insurance claim.
“I’m hoping it just went through a fender,” the mayor said. “We have a $1,000 deductible, and if it’s $400, we’ll probably take care of it. If it’s $10,000, we have no choice” but to file a claim.