By Jacob H. Fries, New York Times
A Queens police officer died Wednesday night apparently of brain aneurysm that he suffered last week while chasing a man accused of threatening his former wife, the authorities said yesterday.
The officer, Disdale Enton, 34, of Elmont, N.Y., was removed from life-support equipment on Wednesday at St. John’s Queens Hospital, the authorities said. He had been declared brain dead the day before, they said. His family declined to comment.
Deputy Inspector John E. Essig of the 113th Precinct, where Officer Enton was assigned, said it appeared that Officer Enton had suffered a brain aneurysm, but added that he had no known medical problems.
An autopsy was performed yesterday but further testing was needed to determine the precise cause of death, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the city medical examiner.
Officer Enton had been patrolling Merrick Boulevard in Jamaica around 10 p.m. last Friday when he and his partner were called to Baisley Boulevard to back up two detectives who had spotted the suspect, the authorities said.
Once they arrived, Officer Enton and his partner, Officer Taiwo Miller, began chasing the man, identified by the police as Anthony Campbell, following him over fences and through backyards before eventually losing track of him, the authorities said. Then, as the two were leaving a backyard on Baisley Boulevard, Officer Enton collapsed, they said. He never regained consciousness.
“He was just fell over,” Officer Miller said yesterday. “His eyes were closed. At first I thought he had a seizure.”
Officer Miller said he had no idea where they were so he ran to the front of the building to find the street number and called for an ambulance. Moments later, another officer flagged down a passing ambulance. Mr. Campbell remained at large last night.
Officer Miller said Officer Enton had appeared to be a model of good health. He exercised regularly and always ate well; just before the incident, the officers had stopped for food. “He had salad. I had a slice of pizza, like always,” Officer Miller said.
Officer Enton joined the department four years ago and worked nights so that he could pursue his other passion, flying his plane, during the day, Inspector Essig said. Officer Enton hoped to join the department’s aviation unit one day, linking his interests in law enforcement and aviation, the inspector said. He had lived with his fiancée for the past eight years. Before becoming a police officer, he worked at Federal Express.
“He joined the department a little older and other officers on the midnight shift looked up to him as the epitome of an excellent officer,” Inspector Essig said. “He was always able to calm down a stressful situation. He brought a lot of professionalism to the job.”