A Lower East Side firefighter has been arrested and charged for allegedly attempting to mug an off-duty NYPD officer in Queens. According to the News, firefighter Angel Valerio and three friends jumped the cop last Sunday after a night of drinking at a Forest Hills T.G.I. Friday's. “The whole thing started off as a fight,” one source said.
The fight allegedly started around 11:45 p.m. Sunday when Valerio and his friends left the restaurant and ran into the cop, who was on his way home from work. It's unclear what prompted the fight, but one of Valerio’s crew reportedly punched the cop first. The cop then identified himself as a police officer and walked away, giving his assailants a free pass.
But for whatever reason, the group instead followed the cop down the street, jumping him and attempted to stealing off his backpack, as well as the cop’s revolver. The cop was bruised in the fight, but got free and ran away. He was able to track down Valerio, who has now been charged with attempted robbery, assault and attempted criminal possession of a weapon for trying to grab hold of the cop’s weapon.
Valerio, a five-year veteran of the FDNY, is expected to be suspended now that he’s been arraigned. He faces seven years in prison if convicted.
