Officer Used Pepper Spray To Stop Teen Brawl In Bayonne: Cops

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — An off-duty federal law enforcement officer used a burst of pepper spray to stop an assault between several teens on Tuesday afternoon, Bayonne police said.

According to the Bayonne Police Department, officers received a report about “a large fight involving juveniles” in the area of 18th Street and Kennedy Boulevard at 3:05 p.m.

After arriving at the scene, officers determined that the “fight” involved several female juvenile assailants, who threw another female teen to the ground and kicked her, police said.

As a crowd of juveniles began to gather around the area, an off-duty federal law enforcement officer passed by and saw the assault. In an effort to defend the victim and prevent serious bodily injury, he ordered the group of juveniles to disperse and deployed a “short burst” of pepper spray into the air, stopping the assault, Bayonne police said.

EMS responders treated several of the youths at the scene for pepper spray exposure. No other injuries were reported, authorities said.

The federal officer, whose agency wasn’t named in a press statement about the incident, immediately provided a “detailed explanation” about what happened to a nearby Bayonne police officer at the scene, authorities said.

The Bayonne Police Department Juvenile Aid Bureau is conducting an investigation, authorities stated.

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