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     Current Issue Highlights Highlights Archive             Get to know your Business Agent today!  Find out how the union makes a difference on the job. |
Newsline: July 2000 UNARMED HOSPITAL OFFICER BREAKS UP KNIFE FIGHT Although unarmed, Hospital Police Officer Eyuen Wong rushed to break up a fight between two men outside Kings County Medical Center in Brooklyn that resulted in serious injury to one, and the death of the other. Wong said he was on post outside the Emergency Room at the hospital shortly before 3 p.m. July 13 when a man came running into the hospital and told him there was a fight across the street on Clarkson Avenue, near the Downstate Medical Center. Wong ran to try to prevent any serious injuries, but when he was about 70 feet away he saw both assailants pull knives and stab at each other. "The fight involved a livery cab driver and a man who was crossing the street," the officer said. "The pedestrian claimed to have been struck slightly by the vehicle as he was crossing and he got into a dispute with the driver." The pedestrian, identified as George Garrison, 45, of Brooklyn, whipped out a knife as the driver got out of the car, Wong said. When the car's driver saw the knife, he also pulled out a blade, the officer said. Garrison made the first pass, Wong said, but the driver ducked the weapon and then struck out at the angry pedestrian. The driver's knife pierced Garrison's skull. Wong took his radio out of its case and called for assistance and then approached the driver, who was still clutching the knife. Not realizing the blade had broken off in Garrison's head, Wong placed his right hand on the empty radio case and pretended he was armed. He warned the driver to drop the knife and the man, believing Wong's radio case was a holster, complied. As the officer disarmed the driver, identified as Alhassane Barry of Brooklyn, the man suddenly collapsed, apparently from a heart attack. When assistance arrived, Barry was quickly placed on a rolling stretcher, but he died on the way to the Emergency Room. Unbelievably, Garrison, with the knife blade in his head, walked into the hospital where surgeons immediately went to work to save his life. Following the operation, Garrison was charged with menacing and possession of a dangerous weapon. |
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