NEW YORK CITY — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said the migrants who reportedly assaulted two police officers over the weekend in Times Square should be deported.
The images showed a group of men kicking and punching two NYPD officers as, according to police, the officers were trying to disperse a disorderly crowd.
"Get them all and send them back," said Hochul when asked about the reported migrants arrested in connection to the attack. "You don't touch our police officers. You don't touch anybody."
She had issued similar remarks the day prior when a reporter asked her whether the people involved should be deported, according to NBC News.
"If someone commits a crime against a police officer in the state of New York and they're not here legally, definitely worth checking into," said Hochul.
According to a police spokesperson who spoke to NBC News, all of the seven people arrested in the incident are migrants. Two of the men arrested gave police addresses of shelters that house newly arrived migrants.
The men have been identified. They are Yorman Reveron, 24; Darwin Andres Gomez-Izquiel, 19; Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19; Wilson Juarez, 21; and Jhoan Boada, 22. They were arrested and charged with assault on a police officer, gang assault, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct. The defendants face felony charges that carry a penalty of up to seven years, said a police spokesperson. The two other men arrested are Yohenry Brito, 24, and Jandry Barros, 21, who were were arrested on charges of robbery and felony assault.
According to senior law enforcement officials, several have arrest records since arriving in the U.S. John Chell, the chief of patrol, condemned the assaults and called the culprits "cowards."
However, five of the seven men arrested were arraigned and released. One of the men, Barros may not be persecuted by the district attorney's office, as a spokesperson said that "there is not sufficient evidence that he is one of the people who committed this terrible act."
According to Chell, one of the released men has fled New York by bus and the district attorney's office is investigating those allegations — the men are not required to stay in New York based on the terms of their release.
"Violence against police officers is never acceptable," the district attorney's spokesperson said. "It is paramount that we conclusively identify each defendant and specify each participant's role in the incident."
The decision to release the men was criticized by Hochul.
"I'm not satisfied with that at all," she said. "These are law enforcement officers who should never, under any circumstances, be subjected to physical assault. It's wrong on all accounts, and I'm looking to judges and prosecutors to do the right thing."
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