by Staff | Jun 20, 2011 5:45 pm

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Officer David Coppola returned to work Monday, a day after he was bitten three times by the resistant driver of an ATV during a Fair Haven traffic stop.

According to Officer Joe Avery: Coppola stopped a quad at Chatham Street and Clinton Avenue at 10 p.m. Sunday. Quads are not allowed on city streets. During the traffic stop, Coppola “ended up in an all-out struggle” with the driver.

The cop “was bitten 3 times and injured his shoulder,” according to Avery. Two civilians came to Coppola’s rescue and stopped the assault. The driver, who’s 37, of 121 Pine St., was arrested on charges of narcotics, motor vehicle, and assault on a police officer.

Coppola said he returned to work Monday. He thanked the two civilians for their help: “They were fantastic.”

In other news, according to Avery:

A car got hit in a spray of gunfire at 2:16 a.m. Sunday at 14 Willis St. in Newhallville. Eight bullet shell casings were recovered from the scene. Cops followed a trail of fluid to a car parked at 545 Sherman Ave. with several bullet holes.

Cops arrested two teenagers who allegedly threw a gun onto I-95 as they were fleeing the cops in a car. The chase started at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. It went onto I-95, into the East Shore neighborhood, and ended at Hillside and Page streets. As they pursued the car, cops saw something thrown out onto the highway. They later recovered a gun and arrested two teens, ages 14 and 19.

It was one of four gun seizures around town over the weekend.

Crime Map

Click here for a list of emergency calls for major incidents on June 17 to 19. Click on the image below to see those crimes placed on a city-wide map.

For block-by-block year-to-date crime info, and daily crime maps, check the Independent’s crime log.