A disorderly man in Midtown beat up a police officer in Times Square this weekend — the second assault on a cop in the area in less than two weeks, police reported.
Michael Thomas, 24, of Great Neck was cuffed cuffed at the scene and hit with a slew of charges that include assaulting a police officer, assault and harassment, and disorderly conduct.
According to police sources, the officer had initially responded to a 911 call of a disorderly person on 42nd Street and Broadway at 12:03 a.m. on Feb. 4. When the officer approached Thomas, law enforcement sources said, the suspect allegedly unleashed a flurry of punches to the patrolman’s face.
Other members of the Midtown South Precinct came to the injured officer’s aid, and placed Thomas into custody. EMS rushed the wounded cop to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for heavy bleeding and other injuries to his nose and mouth.
The incident left one police union boss fuming.
“These assaults on police officers are happening every single day, but we’re not going to let them disappear into the statistics any longer. 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,” PBA President Patrick Hendry said in a statement.
Sunday’s assault occurred less than two weeks after a band of migrants were caught on surveillance video on Jan. 27 punching and kicking a police officer and lieutenant when they attempted to break up a large disorderly crowd outside of a shelter, cops said.
While most recently 24-year-old Yohenry Brito was held on $15,000 bail due to the assault, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell and PBA President Hendry criticized that five other suspects arrested in the case were released on their own recognizance, charging that a lack of consequences could lead to further assaults on cops.
“You want to know why our cops are getting assaulted? There’s no consequences. We must change this, end of story,” Chief Chell said last week.
On Saturday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said he would present charges to a grand jury this week seeking an indictment against those responsible for the Jan. 27 attack.
