'Violent' Struggle After Car Stop Leads to Arrest

Two Newark police officers were briefly hospitalized Tuesday after helping subdue a violent occupant who fled a vehicle that had been stopped, department spokesman Sgt. Ron Glover said.

Police stopped a car that had been reported carjacked around 4 a.m. at 644 Martin Luther King Blvd. As police questioned the occupants, one of them, Ryan Nimmons, a 25-year-old city man who was in the back seat, allegedly attempted to hide something in the waistband of his pants. When police ordered him from the vehicle, Nimmons ran away, eventually being captured after a brief foot chase, Glover said.

Nimmons and the two officers all suffered non-life-threatening injuries after Nimmons struggled during the arrest, Glover said. Police also found a loaded .380 caliber handgun on Nimmons, Glover said.

The officers and Nimmons were treated and released from UMDNJ Tuesday.

Nimmons has been charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and weapons charges.

"I am pleased that our officers, despite the difficulty of the circumstances, were able to recover another firearm from a dangerous felon,” Police Director Samuel DeMaio said. “These officers clearly demonstrated a high level of restraint and professionalism and I commend them on a job well done."