Hoboken Cop Challenged To A Fight: Police

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken police arrested residents from Fairview and Rochelle Park on Monday after one allegedly challenged an officer to a fight and another punched a cop in the face, authorities say.

According to the Hoboken Police Department, the brawling started around 2:17 a.m. on the 100 block of Washington Street when a group of citizens stopped a HPD officer and told him that a man had just punched a victim nearby, knocking him out.

After calling for medical assistance for the victim, the officer found the suspect, Garret Lopez, 25, of Fairview, standing nearby. When he approached Lopez, the Fairview resident allegedly admitted to knocking out the victim and challenged the officer to a fight, authorities said.

With the assistance of several other arriving officers, the challenged cop managed to apprehend Lopez as he fought back and struggled, police said.

Meanwhile, another suspect in the area - Louis Lago, 21, of Rochelle Park – allegedly took a swing at an officer and had to be subdued, authorities said.

A third suspect, a 26-year-old resident of Rochelle Park, then allegedly punched an officer in the face after he told her to step back from the fracas. After slugging the officer, the woman began to use “derogatory and racial slurs aimed at his ethnicity,” police said. The charges against the 26-year-old were discharged in February 2018.

Emergency responders transported the civilian victim to a nearby hospital where he was treated for “significant” nose and facial fractures, police said.

Authorities charged Lopez with Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer, Endangering an Injured Victim and Resisting Arrest.

Authorities charged Louis Lago with Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer and Obstructing the Administration of Law.

All three individuals were issued summonses and released, police stated.

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