Crime & Safety
NJ Cop Punched In The Chest During Parking Lot Fight
A Bergen County man was charged with assaulting a police officer who responded to a dispute, officials said.
PALISADES PARK, NJ — A Palisades Park man was arrested Wednesday for aggravated assault after he punched a police officer in the chest, police said.
Juyeon Pang, 29, was also charged with attempting to cause bodily injury to a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct, police said.
Police said that on Sunday, they responded to a parking lot at 520 Bergen Blvd. on a report of a dispute.
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Police Officers Michael Bruno, Julio Mancilla, and Fernando Saint-Hillaire met with Pang, who was acting "irate and disorderly," said Police Chief George Beck.
The officers told him to calm down, but instead, Pang approached the people he had been arguing with. When police tried to stop Pang, he hit Bruno in the stomach with a closed fist, Beck said.
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Bruno was not hospitalized, Beck said.
Pang was taken to the Bergen County Jail.
"Our officers responded to a disturbance to protect members of the public, only to be met with physical aggression," Beck said. "Assaulting officers who are simply trying to maintain order and ensure community safety is unacceptable under any circumstances."
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