New York police officer shot dead

A police officer was shot and killed early today while pursuing a driver who went through a red traffic light in Brooklyn.

The owner of the car, a 27-year-old man, was later arrested.

After he was wounded, officer Dillon Stewart continued to pursue the shooter until the car disappeared into an underground garage. The officer was pronounced dead about six hours later after undergoing surgery at Kings County Hospital.

Stewart, 35, was driving an unmarked police vehicle, but he and his partner were wearing their uniforms.

The incident began when Stewart and his partner tried to stop a car that went through the red light in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighbourhood. The car circled back and pulled alongside the police vehicle, and the motorist opened fire.

The Police Department said Stewart was the first officer killed in the city in the line of duty this year.