Homeless Men Will Face Charges For Brawl With Cop Following Fury

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — Three homeless men who sparred with an NYPD officer at a Lower East Side subway station will face criminal charges after livid law enforcement officials weighed in, The Daily News reported.

Officer Syed Ali, who is an Army veteran with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, fought off five vagrants with a baton and his wits in the East Broadway subway station Sunday night. The ordeal was caught on camera, showing the grifters approaching Ali in a steady stream.

In the 47-second clip, Ali is seen repeatedly ordering the men to “stand back” as he backs up along a staircase kicking and striking with the baton as the men press forward. One of the men eventually stumbled into the train tracks.

Initially, the men were not expected to face charges for grappling with Ali, but after an outcry the NYPD upgraded the charges and seek all five vagrants. Two of the men will be charged with rioting and obstructing governmental administration while a third will be charged with attempted assault, The News reported.

The Manhattan District Attorney's office said they could not prosecute the men for the assault because police had only arrested the vagrants for sleeping on the floor of the subway, which is a local law violation and not a crime, The News reported.

Police rounded up several intoxicated, emotionally disturbed men from the station after the 10:30 p.m. Sunday incident and transported them to nearby hospitals, authorities said.

The men were released after treatment, but returned to the platform and were caught sleeping in the station Monday morning. They were busted on violations for lying on the subway platform, police said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned the brawl on Twitter and said attacks on police and other uniformed workers "won't ever be tolerated."

Brooklyn Councilman Chiam Deutsch honored Ali for single-handedly battling the group of men on the F-line station. The councilman visited the NYPD Transit Task Force headquarters in Brooklyn on Christmas day, gifting the officer a citation for his bravery.

Councilman Chiam Deutsch honored Officer Syed Ali for fending off five homeless men in a Lower East Side subway station. (Photo courtesy of Councilman Chaim Deutsch)

Deutsch questioned why the men were initially released after the attack on Twitter.

“Why were the attackers released?" Deutsch asked on Twitter. “Were they offered mental health treatment and shelter, or are they back out on the streets, free to assault somebody else, or worse? Many unanswered questions.”

Lead photo courtesy of Shutterstock