A Queens grand jury indicted a Glendale man on charges of assault in the first degree and other crimes for slapping a 9-year-old girl in the face, which was caught on camera, and then biting off the fingertip of an off-duty NYPD sergeant during his apprehension earlier this month.
Feliz Enrique, 31, of 68th Street, was arraigned in Queens Supreme Court Wednesday on an indictment charging him with assault in the first, second, and third degree, endangering the welfare of a child, and harassment for the attacks. Enrique was remanded into custody without bail and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
“The defendant is accused of approaching a defenseless child and striking her in an unprovoked attack,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
The stomach-churning video shows the youngster standing in front of her mother on the sidewalk near the intersection of 67th Place and Central Avenue in Glendale, when Enrique enters the frame, approaches the girl, and then strikes her with a round-house right.
According to the charges, the attack occurred on May 10, between 4:10 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. Enrique engaged the child in conversation, asking her name. When she responded, Enrique forcefully struck her in the face with his hand. The blow knocked her to the ground. Immediately following the incident, off-duty Sergeant Sebastian Hajder, who was nearby, and two good Samaritans attempted to apprehend Enrique. In the ensuing struggle, Enrique bit the sergeant on the knee, hand, and finger. Enrique bit off the top portion of the sergeant’s right index finger, according to the charges.
Police from the 104th Precinct in Ridgewood took Enrique into custody. According to the criminal complaint, during questioning, Enrique told an officer, “This isn’t the first time it’s happened. I beat up her father. I asked where’s {redacted]. I knocked her out. Yeah, I punched her.”
As for biting off Sergeant Hajder’s fingertip, Enrique told the officer, “I know the finger went in my mouth and his finger came out of my mouth.”
EMS transported the girl to the Cohen Children’s Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition with bruising to her arm and back and bleeding to her lip and arm, loose teeth, and substantial pain.
Sergeant Hajder, who is assigned to the 79th Precinct in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, was transported to an area hospital where he was listed in stable condition. He was treated for bite marks to his hand and leg, and abrasions to his arm and leg. Due to Enrique’s actions, doctors were unable to reattach the sergeant’s fingertip.
“A nearby, off-duty police sergeant and two bystanders saw this shocking incident unfold and immediately intervened to apprehend the defendant,” Katz said. “As the off-duty officer struggled to detain him, Feliz Enrique bit the sergeant on his knee and hand, causing permanent disfigurement to the sergeant’s finger.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino remanded Enrique and ordered him to return to court on July 10. If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in prison.
“I thank the off-duty sergeant and the good Samaritans who helped detain this defendant before cops arrived,” Katz said.
Enrique is on parole after serving seven years for attempted murder, according to a law enforcement source. Assistant District Attorney Erin Mullins, of the District Attorney’s Career Criminal Major Crimes Bureau, is prosecuting the case.
The injured sergeant is a resident of Ridgewood, and Council Member Robert Holden spoke with him on Friday morning.
“There is absolutely no excuse for hitting a child,” Holden posted on social media following their conversation. “When off-duty Sgt. Sebastian Hajder stepped in to stop it, he was brutally attacked, and had his finger bitten off. I spoke with Sgt. Hadjer today, a courageous constituent who’s deeply committed to our community, and wished him a speedy recovery.”
Holden is looking forward to meeting with the sergeant when he’s recovered from his injury.
“I look forward to welcoming him to my office or City Hall to honor his bravery in the face of such a vile act,” Holden wrote.
