Officer, traffic agent hurt in Manhattan in separate incidents; 1 by a fire extinguisher
CENTRAL PARK, Manhattan (WABC) -- Two police officers were assaulted in Manhattan in separate incidents -- and the NYPD says they hope the public can help them identify their attackers.
Four men in Harlem are wanted for spraying a fire extinguisher at an NYPD traffic agent who was in his car last Thursday morning.
An NYPD traffic enforcement agent was working near St. Nicholas Avenue and West 118th Street in Harlem when the four people pulled up in a vehicle.
One person in the group discharged a fire extinguisher in the officer's face and then took off. The officer was taken to the hospital and is stable.
One of the young men is identified as 19-year-old Escarlin Polanco Gonzalez, but the NYPD is still searching for the other two.
Officials say one of the alleged perpetrators posted it to social media.
Mayor Eric Adams said the "clowns" who sprayed a fire extinguisher at an NYPD traffic agent sitting in his vehicle in Harlem will be caught.
"It is not only disrespectful to a civil servant, but it is an attack on the foundation of our city, it's not a joke. it's not funny," Adams said.
The next day, there was a separate attack by a different group on another officer.
Police say last Friday around 4 p.m. near West Drive and West 90th Street on the Upper West Side, an on-duty NYPD officer on a marked police scooter attempted to escort three people riding motorcycles out of Central Park.
That's when one of the three struck the officer, causing him to fall, and the motorcycle-riding assailants fled the scene.
The officer was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
The Police Benevolent Association responded to the attacks and said that criminals are emboldened because they don't think they will be held accountable and added that the criminal justice system needs to be strengthened.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
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