Violent assault on off-duty NYPD rookie uncovers tensions with police safety and force protocols
The brother of 27-year-old New York City Police Department officer Chowdhury Nafees, who was beaten by two men in the Bronx Saturday, told Fox News Digital the suspects in the attack "escalated" their brutality after finding out Nafees was a police officer.
That has prompted conversations about use-of-force policies that may prevent law enforcement from protecting themselves.
Wayne Lucas, 23, and Taveon Hargrove, 23, were arrested in the assault that left Nafees, who was in uniform on his way home from work, "horribly mutilated."
Just before 4 a.m. Saturday, Lucas and Hargrove allegedly forced the off-duty rookie officer to the ground, stomping on his face and causing multiple fractures.
They then allegedly held a knife to his throat before forcibly removing his wallet, iPhone and gun and running away.
Nafees' partner called the family and told them "something happened," but they remained in the dark until the 45th precinct confirmed he had been rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
Chowdhury Navid, Nafees' brother, told Fox News Digital he and his mother went to the hospital and found Nafees unconscious and bleeding from his eyes.
"The left eye was completely, horribly mutilated," Navid said. "There was a bootstrap on his face, which was clear that somebody stomped him very, very violently. You can see the tracks on his face. It was a horrible sight to see my brother, who I love the most, and someone who I always look up to … to be in a place where he's completely helpless."
Chowdhury suffered severe head trauma and will need reconstructive surgery. His left orbital bone and right cheekbone were also fractured, among other injuries.
Navid recounted his father's reaction when he arrived at the hospital a short time later.
"My dad is a very strong man," he said. "I never saw him cry ever in his life. This is the first time I saw him break apart."
While the attack appeared to be random, Navid said it "escalated dramatically" when the suspects found out his brother was in law enforcement.
"My brother recalled with one of the investigators [that the suspects learned he was a police officer because he was] wearing a vest on top of his uniform," he said. "When they found out, my brother said he heard them saying, 'Ah, s---. This is a cop.' After that, everything escalated."
"They absolutely hated it," Navid added. "If they could, they would have killed him."
Retired NYPD Det. Robert Garland, who is helping the family raise money for Nafees' recovery, called for justice and challenged the department to be proactive in protecting officers.
"In an act like this, justice needs to be served," Garland told Fox News Digital. "What I mean by that is not going to jail for three or five years. This is an attack on a police officer … and, in my eyes, this is an attempted murder. They should be in jail for life, or they should be up against the death penalty. Something like this should never happen again."
Law enforcement agencies' use-of-force protocols can also lead to an apathetic attitude toward officers and dissuade them from protecting themselves, according to Garland.
"That officer was scared about what he would do, about what his actions would be and how the job — the NYPD — would treat him if he took action," he said.
"Those perpetrators had a knife to him," Garland added. "Could you imagine if he shot, if he drew his firearm and said, 'Police don't move,' and shot. By law, he had every right to do that. But he's thinking at that moment, 'Should I do that? Am I going to lose my job? Am I going to be held publicly on trial?' … All those things will absolutely happen, and it's terrible. … Officers should be allowed to uphold the law."
The same concerns could affect potential recruits' likelihood of taking the oath of office.
"People are afraid to take the job because they're afraid of losing it," Gardland said. "They're afraid of repercussions. They're afraid of being transferred in the middle of the night.
"The job needs to change, and that camaraderie needs to come back," he added. "Unions, brotherhoods, everything has to come together and [they all need to] be there for one another. Unless that starts now and really gets tighter, no one's going to want this job. … They have to keep intact that thin blue line."
Nafees was released from the hospital Wednesday, though his family said he has a long road to recovery.
"His condition has improved dramatically over the last four or five days," Navid said. "I'm really, really grateful to NYPD, [NYC] PBA, the people in the hospital, everybody. … It's a miracle what they were able to pull off. I'm going to be honest with you. If it was not in the United States, he would have been dead."
Though Nafees is an educated engineer, Navid said his brother wanted to go back to the field "because that's his passion."
"He could choose to make a lot of money just by doing [engineering], but he believes that this country needs more people on the street, serving the communities, way more than there is a need for engineers," Navid said.
"He's driven by honor, driven by the necessity of the people," he added. "He's one of those few people who will come [to] the front, and take the risk to do what's right for everybody."
As of Friday, Fund the First, a fundraising platform started by Garland, raised just over $20,000 in donations for Nafees' family.
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