MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – A man with more than a dozen arrests within the first few months of 2025is back in custody after allegedly trying to strangle a police officer, News 12 Westchester reported.
The man, who has had over 25 interactions with law enforcement since January, now faces multiple felony charges and is being held in the Orange County Jail, according to the report.
“During that time, [he] has spit on a nurse practitioner inside of the hospital, assaulted a fellow patient at a mental health treatment center and now he has injured a police officer,” Middletown Police Department Lt. Jeffry R. Thoelen stated in a news release.
The officer involved is expected to fully recover.
Middletown police said the man has been receiving outpatient mental health treatment through state and county programs, but no decisive action has been taken to prevent further incidents.
“The cycle continued without any recourse or long-term solution, and our police department was left to navigate the extremely frustrating reality that bail reform and a lack of appropriate mental health care have exposed our local community to completely unnecessary risks,” the news release stated.
Police Chief John Ewanciw criticized the limitations of bail reform and mental health facilities.
“I apologize to my officers and the people of this city that we have been unfairly placed in this predicament because of the abject failures of our state leaders in addressing the limitations of bail reform and our mental health facilities,” Ewanciw stated in the news release. “We will never give up on our mission to serve, but these issues undoubtedly place our community in a precarious position despite the very best efforts of our department and our local political leaders who support us in every endeavor.Our state simply must do better.”
The man, whom authorities consider a danger to the community, allegedly assaulted officers in custody, yet was previously released with little support, police said.
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