Pregnant Woman Punched In Riverside Park, Police Say

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — A pregnant woman was punched by a man in Riverside Park after an argument about her dog being off its leash, according to an NYPD spokesman and reports.

The woman visited the Riverside Park dog run near West 91st Street shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday night, an NYPD spokesman said. While inside the park, the woman let her dog off its leash about an hour before park rules allow.

A man in jogging gear approached the woman and confronted her about her dog, an NYPD spokesman said. During the argument, the man attempted to record the woman with his phone camera, which prompted the woman to push away his hand, police said.

The man then punched the woman once in the face before fleeing into the park, an NYPD spokesman said.

The woman, who was seven-months pregnant at the time of the assault, told CBS New York that she only recently moved to the Upper West Side.

"Riverside Park is not only good for our dog but during my maternity leave I’m excited to have a place to walk around a lot," she told the news station.

The woman is aware she broke park rules, but told CBS New York that she wasn't trying to antagonize anyone in the park and that she was willing to cooperate with the man when he asked her to leash the dog.

The woman did not suffer injuries and the man has not been caught, police said.

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