Police arrested a motorcycle rider in the Bronx who attempted to avoid an enforcement operation on the Throgs Neck Bridge Wednesday and nearly mowed down an officer.
According to police sources, the wild incident happened just off the Throgs Neck Bridge at around 10:45 a.m. on Aug. 14 during an interagency operation made up of the NYPD, Sheriff’s Office, MTA Police, State Police, and more designed to stop drivers using ghost license plates.
During the enforcement effort, cops say they noticed a man riding a Harley-Davidson southbound across the bridge with an obscured license plate.
When authorities tried to stop the motorcyclist, police say he initially began to pull over but then made a break for it, zooming away and narrowly missing an officer. The getaway attempt failed when the suspect lost control of his motorbike during the chaos and careened into a nearby police cruiser.
Law enforcement sources say the NYPD subsequently took 36-year-old Michele Branca of White Plains into custody. Upon further investigation, they found him in possession of a retractable baton. Arresting officers also learned that his Harley Davidson was also allegedly unregistered and uninsured.
Branca is charged with obstructing governmental administration, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, and reckless driving. He was last cuffed in Queens in 2017 for a suspended license.
As for the Throgs Neck enforcement operation, which is the 35th such operation citywide since March, police say the task force made 10 arrests, seized 47 vehicles, and issued a whopping 539 summonses.
