Jamiesfeast – A 24-year-old man from Long Island hit a New York City police officer in the face in Times Square early Sunday morning, according to the police. This is the latest attack in a string of violent incidents against the city’s police.
Authorities say the suspect beat up the uniformed cop just after midnight when they arrived at Broadway and 42nd Street in response to a call about a disorderly man and told him to leave the area.
Police say that Michael Thomas, of Great Neck, hit the officer in the face several times before he was arrested.
Thomas was charged with many things, such as assault on a police officer and assault with the aim of hurting someone. Besides that, he is also charged with disorderly behavior and harassment.
The police officer was taken to Bellevue Hospital with slight wounds.
Police sources say that later on Sunday, as officers moved in to make an arrest in Manhattan, a second officer got into a fight that had nothing to do with the arrest.
At about 1:45 p.m., the event happened near the New York Public Library. At the same time and place, several people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest.
President of the PBA, Patrick Hendry, spoke out against the recent violence against city police.
“These assaults on police officers are happening every single day, but we’re not going to let them disappear into the statistics any longer,” he told The Post.
“We want New Yorkers to understand exactly what their cops are up against. We need them to hold their elected leaders and the entire justice system accountable. That is the only way the dangerous environment on our streets will change.”
In the last few weeks, NYPD cops have been involved in a number of violent incidents on the job.
Recently, a group of immigrants were arrested in connection with the shocking attack on two police officers in Times Square on January 27.
On the Upper East Side a week ago, a driver hit a police officer with her car. The person suspected, Sahara Dula, was caught in the Jan. 18 event and charged with assaulting a motor vehicle.
Two days before, two police officers were shot and hurt while trying to arrest a crazy suspect who allegedly grabbed one of their guns.