Man Accused Of Coughing On Hoboken Cops Amid Coronavirus

HOBOKEN, NJ — A man from Clossvale, New York, was arrested in Hoboken early Wednesday morning after police accused him of coughing on them and "throwing bodily fluids." The man told police he had COVID-19, police said.

Police said they responded shortly after midnight to a report of a possible burglary at a liquor store at Newark and Garden streets, near the border with Jersey City.

According to a news release from police, someone at the scene told police that a man had shattered the glass window. They also gave police a description of the man.

While searching the area, Sgt. Luke Zeszotarski and Officer Francis McCourt saw a man they said fit the description at Second and Court streets. They stopped the man and saw him holding "multiple liquor bottles and cigarette boxes sticking out of the front pouch of his backpack," police said.

Police arrested Darrell Rude, 33, of Clossvale, New York.

Police said that while he was being processed, Rude "began to purposely cough in the direction of officers. During this time, he advised officers that he has bronchitis and COVID-19."

According to the police news release, "Based on this, officers attempted to place masks on Mr. Rude. However he would [allegedly] violently bite them off each time. ... Any time officers would attempt to talk to Mr. Rude he would pronounce his cough in their direction."

Police say that he refused to be fingerprinted or provide other identification.

"This behavior continued, and officers were unable to safely fingerprint Mr. Rude," the release said. "Mr. Rude also needed to have a saliva DNA swab collected as per the National Crime Informational Center. When officers attempted to swab him he [allegedly] destroyed the swab by biting it (he was charged for his refusal)."

Police said, "A total of nine officers were exposed to his behavior."

Because he stated he was sick, Rude was taken to a local hospital, police said. "Once medically cleared, he will be transported the Hudson County Correctional Facility," police said.

Rude was charged with robbery, burglary, shoplifting, criminal mischief, throwing bodily fluids, refusal to provide a biological sample, refusal to be fingerprinted, and commit unauthorized act during a state of emergency.

Police said they recovered $396 in stolen items.

“This is the second time in six days that our night officers had to deal with a highly dangerous and unusual situation and were able to accomplish the task at hand and the apprehension without receiving serious injury," Police Chief Ken Ferrante said.

A few days earlier, a man grabbed an officer's gun, also near the Jersey City border, police said. (Read more: Suspect Allegedly Grabs Hoboken Police Officer's Gun, Then Bites)

In addition, Gov. Phil Murphy at a news conference cited a case of a man who was accused of coughing on a grocery store worker.

"I am very proud of the work our men and women continue to do daily in dealing with this pandemic and the violent episodes that are occurring during it," Ferrante said.

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