20 August 2023 , 13:21
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A New York Police Department (NYPD) officer was left needing stitches after a man with a history of assaulting New York City workers bit the officer's ear.
32-year-old Donte Bynon was shouting and swearing as he approached two NYPD officers who were making their way into a subway station in Harlem. Court records show he yelled: "I'll f**k you up! I am going to f**k you up you f**king b***hes!" Bynon walked toward the side of a parked patrol car, at which point an officer got out to "calm him", according to the records. Officers then tried to arrest Bynon, who seized his opportunity to get back at the cop - biting their ear.
He bit the police officer's left ear "causing a laceration, bruising and bleeding" in the incident. The officer needed 20 stitches for the wound, according to the District Attorney's office. Bynon's defence attorney, Paul Lee, said in court on Saturday that his client was on the way to his mother's house when the incident took place. He said he was "speaking to himself" while "acting under some stress" when he approached the officers by the subway station. I just think there might be a different account of what went down," said Mr Lee. Bynon denied the allegations.
Prosecutors asked for a $35,000 cash bail to be set, however, Judge Judy Kim granted Mr Lee's request for supervised release. Bynon was released without bail and instructed to return in October.
Bynon has had six prior arrests, according to a police source, with three of them thought to be violent in nature. In 2015 he was charged with resisting arrest and in 2016 he allegedly assaulted a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) worker. On April 27 this year, he allegedly assaulted a police officer - tacking them and striking a cop in the face numerous times, according to the source.
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It's not the first time NYPD officers have had trouble from mouthy detainees. In July a psychiatric patient in police custody reportedly bit off a security guard's middle finger at a Brooklyn Hospital. Dmitry Walker kicked, punched, and bit off security guard Neville Codner's finger at Brookdale Hospital in Brownsville after officers uncuffed Walker while transferring him from the emergency room to the psychiatric unit on July 24, 2022.
60-year-old Mr Codner blamed police for his grim injury, saying they negligently removed Walker's restraints before it was safe to do so. He also accused police of failing to follow protocol and not watching Walker properly after he was admitted to the psychiatric emergency room. Mr Codner made the decision to sue the NYPD for undisclosed damages. It's unclear why Walker was transported to Brookdale Hospital in the first place.