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NYPD traffic agent assaulted with liquid after issuing ticket in Astoria, cops say

A man who threw liquid on an NYPD traffic agent in Astoria was arrested a week later, according to cops.

The traffic agent was issuing a ticket for double parking to a dark-colored Nissan Rogue SL on Steinway Street around 4:55 p.m. Friday, July 20, when Haytham Salama, 35, approached the agent and cursed at her before getting into the passenger seat of the vehicle, police said. The agent, 55, then placed the ticket on the sport utility vehicle’s windshield and continued on foot along her route.

The SUV, driven by a woman, later returned to the agent’s route around 5:20 p.m., according to police. As the vehicle approached the agent, Salama held a plastic bottle out of the passenger window and threw a clear liquid at her, cops said.

The agent was hit in the back with the liquid as the vehicle passed and she was taken to Astoria General Hospital, where she was treated and released for unspecified injuries, according to police.

Salama was arrested on Friday, July 27, and charged with assault and obstructing government administration, police said.

An NYPD spokesman said it was unclear what the liquid was, but it also did not appear that the liquid was being tested by city officials.