Officer's Hand Punctured in Scuffle at Pharmacy

A Madison police officer's hand was punctured Monday after a man who was being questioned in a Main Street pharmacy became uncooperative and threw a display and shelving, authorities said.

One of the items thrown hit the officer's hand and the man, who was being questioned about a possibly fraudulent prescription, ran out the front door of the business, Madison Pharmacy at Central Avenue, Lt. Joseph Cirella said.

The patrolman and a Madison police sergeant chased the man down Central Avenue toward Walnut Street on foot. The man cut through some buildings toward Central Avenue School, where he was last seen, Cirella said.

The patrolman was taken to Morristown Medical Center where he was treated and released. The sergeant suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene, Cirella said.

Both officers are expected to make a full recovery, he said. Cirella declined to give the officers' names, citing privacy laws.

Police still are searching for the man, who was described as black, 5 feet 10 inches tall, in his late 20s or early 30s, muscular, thin, with short-cropped hair, possible facial hair, and wearing a form-fitting gray shirt, and blue or black pants, Cirella said.

Madison Pharmacy owner Frank Iannarone said Tuesday police typically respond to the pharmacy multiple times a month to investigate possible prescription fraud, which he described as an epidemic, but this is the first time someone bolted and someone was injured, he said.

Iannarone said the police "were awesome," responded in no time at all, and "before you knew it, there were tons and tons of law enforcement out there."

He said the man police were questioning had very large, muscular arms that were "bigger than my thighs."

Madison Mayor Bob Conley asked people to keep the officers in their thoughts as they recover.

The Morris County K9 unit and Morristown, Morris Township and Florham Park police departments helped with the search Monday, Cirella said.

Anyone with information about the incident can call Detective Paul Kosakowski at 973-593-3007.