Man Slashed Police Officer At Clifton Rt. 3 Howard Johnson's: AG

CLIFTON, NJ — A man having a mental health crisis slashed a police officer in the face with a knife early Sunday morning at the Howard Johnson motel on Rt. 3 in Clifton, according to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.

Two other Clifton police officers fired their service weapons at the man, but he was not hit by the gunfire, said the Attorney General. The 35-year-old man later stabbed himself in the chest, but survived and remains hospitalized at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson.

The officer who sustained a knife wound to his face was also treated at St. Joseph’s and released.

The incident began at 5:18 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 27 when Clifton police were called to the Rt. 3 Howard Johnson for a report of an individual in mental health crisis. Three officers arrived on the scene and went to a room on the fourth floor where he was staying. They attempted to communicate with him through the closed door of the room and eventually forced entry into the room.

Once the door was open, the officers had a brief interaction at the doorway with the man, who was armed with two knives. The man allegedly slashed one officer in the face as he exited the room into the hallway, at which time the other two officers fired their service weapons in the man’s direction.

The man ran down the hall and through a fire door; he remained in that area of the hotel, armed with the two knives.

The Passaic County SWAT Team then responded to the hotel and located the man in the fourth floor hallway. Shortly after 7 a.m., a SWAT team member fired a Taser at the man, who at the same time stabbed himself in the chest with a knife.

Emergency medical treatment was rendered at the hotel and the man was transported to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center.

The man required surgery and is currently recovering at St. Joseph's. The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time.