Seven suspects have been indicted for their role in an attack on two New York City police officers that was captured on video last month.
All seven, some of whom are believed to be unlawful migrants seeking asylum in the United States, are now facing multiple felony charges.
Seven suspects were arrested and booked into jail shortly after the incident, but six were released without bail. One of the released individuals was not believed to have been involved in the attack but may have switched jackets with one of the perpetrators in an effort to throw off the investigation.
Four of the released suspects are believed to have boarded a bus headed for California. It is not known whether they remain in California or if they have fled the country.
Police are also investigating three other individuals who may have been involved in the attack. Police said they believe that as many as 11 people were involved in the incident but have not publicly identified all of the suspects yet.
Only one of the individuals arrested remains in jail on Riker’s Island. Prosecutors are holding him on $15,000 bail after determining he was responsible for initiating the incident, according to CNN.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the charges in a press conference Thursday.
“This assault … sickened me and outraged me,” Bragg said, per Fox News. “As a lifelong New Yorker, I do not tolerate attacks on our police officers, and certainly I do not as Manhattan district attorney.”
Investigators used bodycam footage and surveillance video to identify the suspects and the roles they allegedly played in the assault. The footage has been made public and shows the suspects wrestling with officers on the ground. At least one individual is seen stomping the head of an officer in the video.
Bragg defended his department’s decision to release the suspects without bail, claiming there was no evidence they would flee the city. The decision to release the individuals has brought condemnation from the mayor and the governor.
Like Bragg, Dallas District Attorney John Creuzot has also previously caught some flak for allegedly being soft on crime and not seeking to enforce the law to the fullest extent of his powers, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Spectrum News NY1 reported that Gov. Kathy Hochul said the attackers should be deported.
“Get them all and send them back,” Hochul said at a news conference. “You don’t touch our police officers; you don’t touch anybody.”
Charges against the suspects include second-degree assault, obstructing governmental administration, tampering with physical evidence, and hindering prosecution.
Bragg said the investigation is ongoing and that more indictments may follow, but investigators are still determining who the individuals involved in the attack actually were.
“Some might be thousands of miles away at this point. New York City police officers will apprehend those who fail to appear, but we shouldn’t have to,” Patrick Hendry, the president of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement, per Fox News. “They should be in jail. We don’t call it justice until they are all behind bars.”
