A crew of hot-headed teens attacked a retired NYPD lieutenant who confronted them for harassing a cab driver on the Upper East Side this week, cops and sources said.
The 65-year-old retiree spotted the group of at least five youngsters ganging up on the cabbie just after 8 p.m. Tuesday at Park Avenue and East 84th Street and stepped in to stop them, according to law-enforcement sources.
But as soon as the former cop intervened, the baby-faced ruffians turned on him – bashing him with a backpack and punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, authorities and sources said.
“They were looking for trouble harassing everyone they saw,” said the victim, who did not want to be identified. “When they started to bother the cab driver, I went over and told them to leave him alone. That’s when one coward hit me from behind with a backpack.”
The beatdown left him with minor injuries to his face and knee, and he refused medical attention at the scene, cops said.
The attackers – all of whom appear to be teenagers – ran off and had not been caught by Friday, as cops released photos of each of them.
One of the suspects was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, black sneakers and black shorts with a white floral pattern.
Another, seen fiddling on his phone, wore a white T-shirt and black pants.
A third, captured riding a bike, was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and gray pants.
The fourth suspect was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and gray shorts, and the fifth was last seen in a black T-shirt and gray pants.
Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
