3 Vagrants Charged For Attacking Cop In Lower East Side Subway

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Three vagrants who were caught on camera attacking a police officer in a Lower East Side subway station were hit with rioting charges Thursday after they were initially released without charges, according to authorities.

Eliseo Alvarez, 36, was slapped with attempted assault, riot, menacing, attempted criminal possession of a weapon and obstructing governmental administration charges, police said. Fellow vagrants Juan Nunez, 27, and Leobardo Alvarado, 31, were busted on obstructing governmental administration and riot charges.

Nunez, Alvarez and Alvarado were among five homeless men who grappled with a NYPD cop at the East Broadway subway station in the Lower East Side on Saturday night, authorities said.

Officer Syed Ali, who is an Army veteran with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, fought off the men with a baton.

The ordeal was caught on camera in a 47-second video clip. After Ali warned the men to back off, the group began to shout "F--k you" and moved towards him. Again, after ignoring demands for the men to stop approaching him and leave, Alvarez swung at Ali with a "pointed object" in his balled fist, court documents show.

Bail was set at $10,000 cash or bond for Nunez, $5,000 for Alvarez and $3,500 for Alvarado. All three men are due back in court on Dec. 31.

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