Police from the 112th Precinct in Forest Hills arrested an Ozone Park man on Friday morning looking for allegedly striking an NYPD traffic enforcement agent during an argument in Rego Park on Wednesday afternoon.
Mark Garrido, 29, of 98th Street, is charged with assault and robbery for rushing at the 56-year-old victim, who was on duty and in uniform at 4:20 p.m. in front of a Taco Bell at 95-06 63rd Drive.
Garrido began arguing over a summons issued to his illegally parked vehicle in front of the fast food joint a few doors south of Queens Boulevard.
The verbal dispute turned violent when Garrido allegedly struck the victim in the hand and forcibly removed the agent’s summons machine, police said Friday.
Garrido jumped into his white SUV with unknown plates and sped away from the crime scene eastbound on Queens Boulevard toward Forest Hills. The traffic enforcement agent was not injured during the encounter.
Through Dec. 15, the 112th Precinct has reported 81 robberies so far in 2024, ten more than the 71 reported at the same point last year, an increase of 14.1%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are also on the rise in the precinct, with 109 reported so far this year, a dozen more than the 97 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 12.4%, according to CompStat.
