New York Police Department Officer Syed Ali received high praise this week from Mayor Bill de Blasio and others after fending off five men inside a subway station.
“What extraordinary professionalism and bravery by NYPD Officer Syed Ali,” Mr. de Blasio tweeted Tuesday. “Attacking our men and women in uniform won’t ever be tolerated.”
Footage of the East Broadway station fight between the officer and Oseas Garcia, 32, Juan Munez, 27, Raul Ruiz, 29, Elisoe Alvarez Santos, 36, and Leobardo Alvarado, 31, was viewed more than 4.85 million times on Twitter.
The men were briefly taken into custody Sunday night and released, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, however, ripped the district attorney’s office for failing to prosecute the men.
The officer, an Army veteran who saw combat in Iraq in 2008, initially confronted the men after a woman said they were harassing her.
1 COP DEADASS BATTLING AGAINST AN ARMY OF CRACKHEADS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/SW61Cw3mLC
— MAADY (@Ahmaadnyc) December 24, 2018
“There’s no telling how much damage these mopes would have done to that courageous police officer had he not been equipped to handle them,” Mr. Lynch said. “Had it gone the other way, we might have had a seriously injured or dead police officer instead. It’s wrong that they were not charged for attacking him. The district attorney’s job is to prosecute crimes, not to act like a social advocate.”
According to the Daily News, a spokesman for Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance countered that each person was processed as intoxicated and emotionally disturbed.
“When people are arrested for attacking officers, we prosecute them. These men were not arrested for attacking an officer,” spokesman Danny Frost said. “They were arrested for sleeping on the floor of a subway station — a rules violation, not a crime. We have not prosecuted this violation since March 2016 under a policy jointly established with the Police Commissioner and Mayor.”
The officer also may have saved the life of one of his attackers by quickly having MTA officials cut off power to the third rail when he fell onto the tracks, the Daily News added.
What extraordinary professionalism and bravery by NYPD Officer Syed Ali. Attacking our men and women in uniform won’t ever be tolerated. The NYPD is upping its presence at this station and others to ensure officers have the support they need. https://t.co/rWEAf48DEk
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) December 25, 2018
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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