A Niagara Falls man has been arrested and charged in connection with an officer-involved shooting on the 1100 block of Connecting Road in April.
Falls Police detectives, assisted by other local law enforcement agencies, said they picked up Anthony Ciccarelli, 24, of the Falls, around 4 p.m. Wednesday and charged him with first-degree reckless endangerment and multiple vehicle and traffic (V&T) law charges stemming from his actions in fleeing from a police traffic stop. Ciccarelli pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment in Niagara Falls City Court on Thursday morning.
He was ordered held without bail pending further proceedings on Tuesday.
Falls Police patrol officers said they attempted to conduct a traffic stop on a Nissan Murano being driven by Ciccarelli near 18th Street and Pine Avenue around 6:30 p.m. on April 17. The officers said they attempted to stop the vehicle because they observed what might have been “narcotics activity” between Ciccarelli and another suspect.
The officers said when they activated their lights and siren, Ciccarelli “failed to yield” to them and led them on a high-speed chase through the city and Town of Niagara before entering the 1100 block of Connecting Road.
Police radio transmissions indicated that Ciccarelli stopped on Connecting Road and attempted to make a U-turn, before driving his vehicle toward the responding patrol officers. Officers told police dispatchers that the driver was not following their commands.
Moments later, the officers radioed dispatchers, “Shots fired!” and said that Ciccarelli “tried hitting us with his vehicle.”
Ciccarelli was treated at the scene by Falls firefighters and taken by ambulance to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo with what was described as a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. The officer involved in the shooting was not injured.
Falls Police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) detectives and Office of Professional Standards investigators said they are continuing their investigation of the incident. The officer involved in the shooting had been placed on administrative leave pending the result of the investigations.