Crime & Safety

Tourist Assaults Merrick Man In New York City

The 31-year-old kicked the man in the face and struck him in the back, police say.

NEW YORK, NY - A Merrick man was injured after he was attacking by a tourist in Times Square on Monday morning.

An NYPD spokesman confirmed that 31-year-old Dean Westmoreland, of Utah, was arrested at about 7:30 a.m. on 1501 Broadway after assaulting the 53-year-old man.

Westmoreland struck the man in the back and kicked him in the face causing swelling and bruising, police said.

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The man was walking down the street, police said.

Westmoreland also resisted arrest by flailing his arms, kicking his feet and refusing the handcuffs, police said.

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Westmoreland was charged with assault and resisting arrest.

His sister, Rachel Westmoreland, told the New York Post that he could not have kicked the man because he was wearing skinny jeans that would have prevented him from kicking that high and that she believes he was racially profiled because of his "big size and multiple tattoos."

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