Suffolk County to release shocking drug report

  Eyewitness NewsSUFFOLK COUNTY (WABC) -- Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota will unveil a 98-page Grand Jury report Thursday detailing astonishing statistics of an epic drug crisis on Long Island.

Eyewitness News has exclusively obtained a copy of the report.

Months ago, in response to the Father's Day 2011 massacre at Medford's Haven Drugs, Spota empanelled a special grand jury to look into the problems of opiate abuse and doctor shopping. The investigation has yielded indictments against 26 people, for the following:

Sale and possession of controlled substances Vehicular assault Vehicular manslaughter Driving while ability impaired Criminal possession of forged instrument

Perhaps more important than the indictments are the startling numbers detailed in the report, including the following:

Between 2006 and 2010, Suffolk heroin arrests rose 170 percent, from 486 to 1,315. Suffolk County has seen 70 percent more prescriptions for oxycodone than the average for any other state. Between 2004 and 2011, the number of overdose victims with oxycodone in their blood jumped 266 percent. In the same time period, the number of overdose deaths attributed to opioids increased 69 percent. Between 1996 and 2011, the Suffolk County Drug Court treatment program saw a 425 percent increase in heroin abuse, and a 1,136 percent increase in opioid pill abuse.

The report goes on to make a series of recommendations for how to reverse the trend, including statutory and regulatory changes at the federal, state and local levels; modifying the FDA process of authorizing prescription opioids for manufacturing, marketing, and labeling; and at the state level enacting E-Prescribing rather than written prescriptions.

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Nassau County cop shot in East Meadow

EAST MEADOW (WABC) -- A Nassau County police officer was shot and injured Friday morning after a struggle with a suspect. The suspect was shot and killed by another officer who arrived as backup.

But they embraced, knowing he would survive.

Blocks away, it was a different scene.

Detectives consoled the fiance of another man, Dwayne Oxley, who they say grabbed that officer's gun.

But his outcome was much different.

"They may have pulled up to that car just to see if the guy was OK. Then the struggle emerged," said Lt. Kevin Smith, Nassau County Police.

It started innocently enough before dawn in this then-deserted East Meadow shopping center.

Surveillance video shows the first officer pulling up to an SUV with one man inside.

He stepped out of the car.

But when a second cop arrived to provide backup, Oxley jumped back into the car and locked the doors.

"The officers managed to get the door open and a struggle ensued getting him out of the car, and that time that struggle continued to ensue with the officer's gun now being involved," Smith said.

Police say Oxley pulled the gun from the holster of one of the officers, who struggled to get it back.

But it went off hitting him in the leg.

His partner opened fire on the suspect, hitting him two or three times and killing him.

Detectives spent the day searching for clues into why the man went for that gun.

The bullet hit the officer's left thighbone.

He spent the morning in surgery, where doctors placed a rod in his leg.

Meanwhile, police cleared the scene and life returned to normal in this shopping center.

Pizzeria manager Peter Bruce says he couldn't believe his eyes when he arrived at work.

"It's the holidays and we're supposed to be all happy and cheering and there's a New Year. And I come to work and there's a dead guy in front of my building," Bruce said.

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