
Six men, mostly illegal migrants, have been arrested in connection to a January 27 attack on an NYPD officer and lieutenant that was caught on camera, ABC News reported.
According to the New York Daily News, four of the suspects were arrested at the scene while a fifth suspect, 22-year-old Jhoan Boada was arrested on Monday, January 29.
A sixth suspect, Yehenry Brito was arraigned and held on $15,000 cash bail on February 1.
Jhoan Boada was also released without bail. When he left the courthouse after his arraignment, Boada flipped off the news cameras with both middle fingers, according to the Daily News.
The NYPD and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office are investigating if the four suspects arrested at the scene subsequently left New York on a bus bound for California under fake names.
Sources with the NYPD told ABC News that the four suspects had given fake names to the NGO working with the city to deal with the migrant crisis when they boarded the bus. The NGO workers had recognized them from the mugshot photos circulating in the media after the January 27 assault.
The assault occurred near Times Square as law enforcement attempted to take an individual into custody. As officers were attempting to disperse the crowd, the suspects began to punch and kick the two officers before fleeing the scene.
Both officers were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said in a statement that it was continuing to investigate the attack and had obtained additional surveillance video that had not been available at the time of the first four suspects’ arraignment.
In a January 31 press conference, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell described the attack as “reprehensible” and the suspects “cowards.” He blasted the court for releasing the defendants saying all of them should be in Rikers Island on bail “right now.”
The video of the assault and the release of the suspects drew widespread condemnation, including from New York Governor Kathy Hochul who criticized the court for releasing defendants who had attacked law enforcement.