Man Bit And Spat At Hoboken Police Officers Who Were Responding To Argument, They Say

HOBOKEN, NJ — A Jersey City man was charged with assault after biting a Hoboken police officer and spitting in the eye of another, police say.

Mickey Mendez, 24, of Jersey City was charged on Sept. 11 with aggravated assault, throwing bodily fluids, resisting arrest, and defiant trespassing, Hoboken police said.

Police said that at around 8:10 p.m. on that date, Officers Jaydan Gonzalez and Remy Garcia-Marte were on walking patrol on the 300 block of Jackson Street when they heard a commotion nearby.

They saw a verbal dispute taking place on Hoboken Housing Authority (HHA) property involving Mendez and Darnel Walker, 29, of Hoboken.

Police saw them get into a car, but when a witness said there might be a firearm in the vehicle, police stopped them from leaving.

Other officers arrived and Mendez began walking away, ignoring orders to stay, police say.

Since he wasn't a resident of the HHA buildings, he was arrested for defiant trespassing and obstruction of justice.

"During the arrest, Mendez resisted by tensing up and flailing his arms and his body, causing multiple officers to fall on the grass," police said. "He also bit one of the officers on the arm and once [he was] in handcuffs, he spit, hitting one officer in the eye," police said.

He was taken to headquarters, charged, and then taken to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.

The other man, Walker, was charged with defiant trespassing and taken to Hoboken Police Headquarters. Police found that he had a warrant from Jersey City, they said. He was released from custody with a summons.

"The witness statements regarding firearms remain under investigation," police said.