'DRAG' COP IN COMA
‘He’s never going to be the same again’
The Brooklyn cop who was dragged for blocks by a 15-year-old driver in a stolen car suffered “serious head trauma’’ and is now in a medically induced coma, police sources said Sunday.
“He has a lot of injuries — bad injuries. He’s never going to be the same again, I can tell you that,” a law-enforcement source said of NYPD Officer Dalsh Veve, 35, a married dad with nine years on the force.
Veve was among a group of cops responding to reports of gunfire just before midnight Saturday when he spotted a late-model black Honda Civic parked in front of a fire hydrant in East Flatbush.
He began questioning the car’s driver, who is on probation and has several pending felony accusations against him, including for auto theft, robbery and burglary, sources said.
The kid suddenly hit the gas and sped off, dragging Veve until the cop was thrown from the car and went tumbling through the street, a police source said.
“[Veve] was literally bouncing and rolling on the street because the car was going so fast,” another law-enforcement source said. “That’s how his head was injured.’’
The officer was able to get off two bullets during the mayhem, striking the driver in his face, the sources said.
The car crashed after about 2¹/2 blocks. Its two passengers — an 18-year-old woman and a 30-yearold man — were apprehended, police said.
The driver was nabbed after walking into Brookdale Hospital with a gunshot wound, cops said.
The car had been reported stolen from a pizza-delivery driver in Valley Stream, LI, on May 16.
Videos posted to what is believed to be the driver’s Instagram account Thursday showed him riding in what looks like the stolen car with three other young men.
The speedometer is seen topping out at 91 mph as the group hurtles down an unidentified highway in the video.
Mayor de Blasio described Veve, who lives with his wife and 2year-old daughter in North Baldwin, LI, as an “exemplary officer.’’
His family was at his bedside at Kings County Hospital Sunday.
“He represents the American dream, an immigrant child who came here, joined the greatest police force in the country and has been an exemplary officer,’’ de Blasio said at a Manhattan press conference.
A law-enforcement source added of Veve, “He’s a real good cop, well-liked by everybody.’’
Veve came to the US from Haiti as a child, according to Councilman Matthieu Eugene, who grew up with Veve’s father in Cap-Haitien and visited the family on Long Island on Sunday.
NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill also visited the wounded cop Sunday morning.
One of Veve’s neighbors said his vigilance — even while off duty — made the neighborhood feel safer.
“Sometimes, there’s sketchy people on the block, and I talk to him about it, and he tells us he’s watching,” said Martha Forrisi. “It’s like he’s always on the job.”