Four people are wanted in connection to 19 recent robberies, and the latest incident involved a police officer being attacked in the Bronx.
The officer, who was off-duty at the time on Tuesday, suffered a fractured skull and brain bleed. However, he was conscious and able to converse with family members on Wednesday, CBS New York reported.
A video clip showed a man walking down Olmstead Avenue when another individual ran into him from behind. Other individuals also approached but later fled the scene.
The man was left on the sidewalk and was eventually identified as Officer Muhammad Chowdhury.
A nephew told CBS his uncle had worked for the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for 18 years.
The NYPD also shared additional footage of the suspects getting out of a black car:
Chowdhury had been jogging when he was apparently attacked by three individuals accused of taking his wallet and leaving him with no identification.
When he did not appear for work, officials connected him with the unidentified man who had been rushed to the hospital.
Meanwhile, authorities believe the group was connected to 18 additional robberies that happened recently in the Bronx and Queens.
The policeman’s wife has since demanded authorities hold the group accountable and make sure they were not released on bail, the New York Post reported Wednesday.
Chowdhury’s wife, whose name is Nadira Sherin, told the outlet his attackers needed to be put in jail.
“You cannot let these men out the same day that they are arrested,” she commented in reference to the state’s bail reform law.
“Punish them. If they release them the same day, that is not justice for my husband,” she stated.
Earlier this month, NYPD officers were hit with bottles during an altercation that happened in the Bronx on the corner of East 168th Street and Sheridan Avenue.
“The criminal element is emboldened and empowered because of the laws that have been enacted by the city council and people in Albany,” said Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo.