Holly MatkinBronx, NY – A cowardly assailant ambushed a New York police officer from behind and bashed her in the head with a bottle during an unprovoked attack in the Bronx on Monday (videos below).
The brutal assault occurred near Broadway and 231st Street at approximately 2 pm. On April 17, the New York Post reported.
The uniformed New York Police Department (NYPD) officer and New York City Sheriff’s Department deputies were conducting smoke shop inspections at the time.
The female officer was standing out on the sidewalk when a man suddenly walked up behind her and abruptly slugged her in the back of her head with a bottle, videos of the attack showed.
He then proceeded to punch her repeatedly as multiple people jumped in to stop the assault.
The officer’s partner was also punched in the head during the attack.
Officers were able to apprehend the alleged assailant, who has been identified as 45-year-old Jose Garcia, the New York Post reported.
Garcia is a repeat offender with at least 11 prior arrests, sources told the news outlet.
He has been charged with assault, resisting arrest, obstruction of government administration, criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, and harassment in connection with the attack, according to FOX News.
The injured officer was transported to Saint Barnabas Hospital for treatment, the New York Post reported.
She was later listed in stable condition, according to FOX News.
The motive for the attack is unknown, but sources said Garcia allegedly told police that “God told him to do this,” the New York Post reported.
The suspect also claimed there were “people in his house and no one did anything,” according to the news outlet.
In addition to his self-proclaimed substance abuse, Garcia has allegedly struggled with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and does not always take his prescribed medication, the New York Post reported.
During one incident in 2014, he allegedly threatened to shoot workers at a business, then fought with police when they responded to the scene.
Garcia yelled at the officers during that encounter, threatening to kill them and proclaiming that he was high on PCP, the New York Post reported.
Watch the incident unfold in the videos below. Warning – Graphic Content:
A police officer has been hit over the head with a bottle in an unprovoked attack on a New York street with the shocking attack caught on CCTV.
The 45-year old male suspect, Jose Garcia, was detained instantly and has since been charged with a string of offences, while the NYPD… pic.twitter.com/HScpzqHwDw
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) April 18, 2023
Video from another angle of a police officer being hit over the head with a bottle.
Brooklyn NY. pic.twitter.com/LWzNE4L0lT
— Ryan morton CITIZEN JOURNALISTS (@Ryanmor54929339) April 19, 2023
Sandy Malone