Drunk-Driving Suspect Charged With Assault

Adrunk-driving suspect apparently carrying a knife was subdued by a Los Angeles police officer Thursday morning after a brief chase in Van Nuys, authorities said.

Police spokesman Joe Cross said Gregory Shick, 29, fought briefly with Officer Robert M. Brodowy about 1:45 a.m., after Brodowy tried to stop the car Shick was driving. Hospitalized in the jail ward at County-USC Medical Center, where he was listed in fair condition, Shick was later charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Cross said the incident began when Brodowy tried to stop an erratically driven car at Sepulveda Boulevard and Stagg Street. Shick, who was driving the car, led Brodowy on a brief chase before leaping from his moving car and running into an alley near an apartment building in the 7500 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, Cross said. The car hit three parked vehicles before coming to a stop on Covello Street, he said. No one was injured.

After Shick was cornered in front of the apartments, he attacked Brodowy in a “crazed” manner, Cross said. Brodowy responded by hitting Shick in the arms, legs and chest with his baton, Cross said.

Although Brodowy did not report seeing a weapon during the fight, Cross said, police found an open four-inch folding knife where Shick was arrested.

Brodowy was treated for minor injuries at Valley Hospital Medical Center and released, Cross said.

Cross said Shick was driving with a suspended license. He is on probation for a 1984 drunk-driving conviction, Cross said.