Two NYPD officers were beaten by illegal immigrants near Times Square last weekend as video footage shows the policemen struggling on the ground with the perpetrators. The officers told the group of illegal immigrants who were loitering in the street to move along around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday. Moments later, a fight broke out that saw the illegal immigrants gang up on the two policemen, The New York Post reported. Video footage shared by the NYPD shows the officers attempting to arrest one of the illegal immigrants as others kick and punch the officers in the head.
Four illegal immigrants were eventually apprehended and identified as Darwin Andres Gomez Izquiel, 19, Kelvin Servat Arocha, 19, Juarez Wilson, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24, the Post reported. All four were reportedly released without bail after being charged with assault. Police sources told the Post that a fifth suspect was arrested on Monday night and charged with attempted assault of a police officer.
The two officers suffered minor injuries, such as cuts to the face and bruised bodies, and were treated at the scene. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it is reviewing the footage and investigating the incident.
Reveron, one of the illegal immigrants released without bail, has two other open cases for assault and robbery. He allegedly “pushed, punched, and bit” an employee at Nordstrom Rack after he was caught trying to steal a $130 item, and in another alleged robbery attempt at Macy’s last month, Reveron is accused of punching a loss prevention officer.
The incident comes as New York City struggles to handle the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants that have arrived in the Big Apple over the past two years after taking advantage of President Joe Biden’s lax border policies. Earlier this month, Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said that city officials are noticing that some of the illegal immigrants who have come to the city are engaging in a “robbery pattern.”
“Do I believe that there are some migrants who are committing crimes in the city? Yes. Yes,” Adams responded to a reporter who asked him about the issue.
“There are people who are committing crimes in all walks of life. It’s not just migrants and asylum seekers. I think that we have a number of migrants who have committed crimes. We have a number of non-migrants who are committing crimes,” he added.
The reporter pressed Adams on what data he was using to claim that migrants had committed crimes.
“There was a robbery pattern, for instance,” Adams responded. “We identified that this was a robbery pattern, and there were some migrants that participated in that robbery pattern.”