A pair of New York City police officers were allegedly attacked by several migrants near Times Square over the weekend, with the suspects later being released without bail following their arrest.
Surveillance footage released by the New York Police Department shows an NYPD officer and lieutenant telling the migrants to move along around 8:30 p.m. Saturday on West 42nd Street in Manhattan, the New York Post reported. A scuffle ensues as the officers are seen apparently trying to subdue someone on the ground.
The suspects are then seen kicking the officers before running off before being arrested a short time later. Police sources identified the suspects to the Post as Darwin Andres Gomez Izquiel, 19, Kelvin Servat Arocha, 19, Juarez Wilson, 21, and Yorman Reveron, 24.
They were all charged with assault and released without bail, sources said. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office told Fox News Digital that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
"We now have additional video surveillance that was not available at the time of arraignment and are continuing to speak to witnesses in order to determine the specific role of each defendant," the DA's office said in a statement.
The unidentified officers sustained minor injuries and were treated at the scene. One officer sustained cuts to the face while the other had bruising to the body, according to sources.
"Attacks on police officers are becoming an epidemic, and the reason is a revolving door we’re seeing in cases like this one," said Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry in a statement. "It is impossible for police officers to deal effectively with crime and disorder if the justice system can’t or won’t protect us while we do that work."
Reveron has two pending cases in Manhattan for assault and robbery, the newspaper reported. He allegedly attacked a loss prevention officer at a Macy's department store during an alleged robbery and allegedly punched and bit a Nordstrom Rack employee in November.
Saturday's attack came as the city continues to grapple with an influx of migrants who were bussed from the Texas-Mexico border.
The Post previously reported that nearly 100 migrants have been suspected of being pickpockets by the NYPD and residents near Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, the site of 2,000-bed migrant tent shelter, complained about "lawlessness" by the occupants there.
