Man Charged With Biting Cop in Manhattan Takes Two More Bites at Third Degree Apple

Man Charged With Biting Cop in Manhattan Takes Two More Bites at Third Degree Apple by Matthew & Russell Lee, Patreon Substack SDNY COURTHOUSE, Aug 17 – A man charged with biting a police officer while in Manhattan Holding is on trial before NYS Justice Juan M. Merchan, best known for presiding over the Trump criminal trial. On Thursday he was smiling during a jury break, then summoning them back in. Inner City Press was there and live tweeted: Video of prison cell shown. Lt Temple: I told the defendant to come stand in the red box to be transported to the hospital. ADA: How loud is it in Manhattan holding? Lt Temple: Pretty loud.  ADA: Were you responsible for all arrestees? Lt. Temple: Yes ADA: Play the video from 54 seconds. What are you trying to do here? Lt. Temple: Get him to stand upright. He was trying to not talk. We put on leg restraints. ADA: After the defendant bit your colleague, what did you do? Lt. Temple: Escorted him for transport ADA: Did the defendant indicate that you were hurting him? Lt. Temple: He was being belligerent about being removed from the cell. My colleague, there were teeth marks on his forearm. The skin was broken and you could tell it was a bite. Deep imprint from teeth Cross examination. Defense: You are familiar with the NYPD Patrol Guide about use of force, that it must be reasonable under the circumstances? Lt Temple: That's correct. Defense: De-escalation is prioritized? Lt Temple: It is.  Defense: No chokeholds? A: None Defense: You are supposed to notify NYPD about misconduct? Lt Temple: Yes. Defense: Did you fail to notify in this case? Lt Temple: If it please the court may I explain? Defense: It's a yes or no question ADA: Your Honor... Judge Merchan: You can ask afterward Defense: You filled out a Threat Resistance Injury report, a TRI? Lt. Temple: I did. Defense: For police use of force, you wrote not applicable? May I pass the document up? Judge nods. Defense: Did you write N/A? Lt. Temple: I did. Defense: Did you conduct a video canvas? Lt Temple: No - I was there, I saw it. Defense: But no canvas.... Apparently not... Already by Friday, the charge conference.    On August 17, jurors heard the closing arguments including that awaiting presentment for farebeating at the Union Square subway station and the discovery of what police said was a crack pipe, the defendant grew agitated that he would likely have to spend the night in jail before his case was called. He had requested medical treatment but now saw it might ensure the night in detention. So, when officers came to transport him to the hospital, he resisted. They applied force - he said too much - and the bite ensued. He is charged with one count of assault second degree, a felony, and one count of assault third degree, a misdemeanor. Both counts require physical injury. The bite broke the officer's skin, but the defense disputes physical injury as the officer rated his pain only as a three. The prosecution says this may be because the officer wanted to go home, and that three is enough. Second degree assault also requires that the defendant intended to impede the officer in the performance of his lawful duties. The defense says the element is not met, because excessive force rendered the officer's behavior unlawful. Third degree assault, while not touching on lawful duties, requires intent to cause physical injury. The defense takes two bites at the third degree apple: even physical injury may have been unintentional. Next the apple is in the jury's hands. Meanwhile in TAP B, a defendant twice charged with misdemeanor drug possession while awaiting sentencing after a guilty plea to attempted robbery, did as promised have his sentence increased -- from three years probation to five.   The prosecution had requested a City year; the defense lawyer responded that "Rikers is a sewer hole," "no one comes out better." He lauded his client's book consumption and reminded that "Reading is fundamental." He pointed out that many New Yorkers take Xanax just to get through the day.  But most of them have prescriptions, the judge pointed out.   I don't think you can get a prescription for crack cocaine, the defense lawyer said.   I don't think so either, the judge answered. *** Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron. Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com Mail: Box 130222, Chinatown Station, NY NY 10013 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.  Copyright 2006-2026 Inner City Press, Inc. To request reprint or other permission, e-contact Editorial [at] innercitypress.com