Police Officer Arraigned After Shooting

A police officer was arraigned yesterday in Brooklyn after allegedly attempting to cover up evidence said to link her husband to the shooting of a plainclothes police officer.

Police officer Jaqueline Melendez-Rivera posted a $50,000 bond yesterday after being arraigned on charges of obstructing governmental administration, hindering prosecution, and tampering with physical evidence, the Brooklyn district attorney's office said. If convicted, Mrs. Rivera could face up to three years in prison.

Police early Saturday morning stopped Mrs. Melendez-Rivera, who was driving a 2002 white Acura that was riddled with bullet holes, in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. It was the same car that her husband, Jose Rivera, was driving when he shot police officer Andrew Suarez only a short time before after an argument, police said.

Mr. Rivera was charged yesterday with attempted murder in the 2nd degree, criminal possession of a weapon, and assault, the Brooklyn District Attorney's office said. The attempted murder charge holds a maximum sentence of 25 years. No bail was set for Mr. Rivera.

Three police officers spotted Mr. Rivera on Saturday morning driving a suspicious white vehicle, police said. When the officers slowed to the curb on Sixth Avenue to get a better look at the car, Mr. Rivera pulled up next to them and yelled, "You got a beef?" He then opened fire, lodging a bullet under Mr. Suarez's neck. The other officers returned fire, but Mr. Rivera escaped, police said.

Mr. Saurez was rushed to New York Methodist Hospital, where he is in stable condition.

Mrs. Melendez-Rivera, a 13-year veteran of the NYPD, was stopped by police later that morning while driving her husband's car, police said.

After executing a search warrant, the weapon used to shoot Mr. Suarez was found in the back yard of Mrs. Melendez-Rivera's home on St. Marks Avenue in Park Slope.