Jose Garcia: Video shows NYC man with 11 prior arrests attack female police officer with bottle on busy sidewalk
BRONX, NEW YORK: A shocking surveillance video showed a female NYPD police officer being smacked in the head with a bottle. A man was seen attempting to pummel her along with another officer. On Monday, April 17, on a crowded sidewalk at 231st Street and Broadway in Kingsbridge, Jose Garcia, 45, suddenly walked up behind the uniformed female officer and attacked her on the side of her head using a bottle.
The video shared by NYC Scoop on Twitter showed the man charging at her and swinging at another officer who stood next to her. One other person and the male officer then took the attacker to the ground outside Delicious Deli and Alltown Car Service.
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What are the charges against Garcia?
A Kingsbridge Heights native, Garcia was taken into custody and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, obstruction of governmental administration, resisting arrest, menacing, harassment, and assault. Law enforcement sources said that he has 11 prior arrests, reported New York Post.
With the New York City Sheriff's Department, the female officer was conducting smoke shop inspections when she was smacked. According to police, the injured officer was shifted to St Barnabas Hospital. She was listed in stable condition after she was treated at the facility. The officer who was in the Bronx to conduct the inspections was stationed at a Queens precinct.
The New York Post previously obtained the initial video of the attack captured from behind the suspect and the officers. The man pulled out the bottle from his right pocket and smacked her head. The bottle then fell to the ground and smashed. Garcia continued to attack both officers. Pedestrians responded to the scene in shock. A New York City sheriff who walked to the deli from a parked van just before the incident rushed to the scene and apprehended the assaulter.
NYC's illegal weed markets
According to the news outlet, smoke shops in New York City have been illegally selling marijuana and other products. In February, Manhattan's top prosecutor and Mayor Eric Adams announced their move to eliminate operations of illegal shops in the city. Following the cannabis legalization in 2021, 66 licenses were issued. With only two licensed shops opened, around 1,400 illicit stores are believed to be operating in the city.
