An off-duty veteran NYPD cop was knocked out and critically injured after he was viciously mugged while jogging in the Bronx on Tuesday morning, police and sources said.
The 48-year-old officer was running near 823 Olmstead Avenue when he was jumped by three men at about 10:30 a.m. in a horrific crime that appears to be part of a recent citywide pattern of robberies, according to cops and sources.
One of the suspects punched the cop in the head, knocking him unconscious, sources said.
The cop, an 18-year veteran assigned to the Central Park precinct, was found lying on the sidewalk bleeding from his left ear and unable to stand or speak, sources said.
He had no form of identification on him at the time and was taken to Jacobi Medical Center as a John Doe with a fractured skull and bleeding to his brain, sources said.
The NYPD learned later Tuesday night that he was one of New York’s finest. He was listed in critical but stable condition, the sources added.
The perpetrators fled in a black Honda sedan and no arrests were reported, police and sources said.
Police said the suspects made off with the officer’s cell phone, keys and wallet, which contained several forms of identification as well as his debit and credit cards.
A witness to the mugging was uncooperative with investigators, sources said.
Mayor Eric Adams visited the injured cop at the hospital on Tuesday night, sources said.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch vowed that the department will bring the “cowards” who attacked the cop to justice.
“Make no mistake: we will find them. But we will need the rest of the justice system to step up and do its job, too,” said Lynch.
Police said the cop’s mugging matched a pattern of 19 robberies in the city since Aug. 1. The first two occurred in Queens, while all others happened in the Bronx, including six just on Monday.
In the last two robberies before Tuesday’s mugging, a 36-year-old man was approached by a group of three young males in front of 2353 Quimby Avenue Monday morning.
One of the robbers flashed a knife while the others snatched the victim’s cell phone and wallet, which contained ID documents and about $40 in cash, according to police.
The victim was slashed as he tried to flee. He was treated by EMS at the scene.
Surveillance video released by the NYPD captures part of the attack against the 36-year-old, showing three males exit a black Honda double parked in a street and walk towards the victim.
The video then cuts to the suspects chasing the victim down the street past their getaway car.
As one suspect continues to pursue the 36-year-old man, two of them suddenly turn around and confront a 32-year-old woman and a 48-year-old man who happened to be walking by the black Honda, video shows.
Just as in the previous incident, one of the suspects displayed a knife while the others removed the female’s purse, video shows. The purse contained roughly $1,000 in cash, multiple debit cards and ID documents, cops said.
The suspects jumped into their Honda and drove off. No one was injured in the second incident, police said.
The 43rd precinct, where Tuesday’s attack took place, has seen a surge in robberies this year, according to police stats.
As of Sunday, the precinct recorded 461 robberies, compared to the 271 in the same period last year — an increase of 70%, the stats show.