ROCKVILLE, MD – A uniformed police officer with the Montgomery County Police was reportedly assaulted without provocation while standing in line at a Chipotle restaurant in Rockville on December 17th.
While the suspect was later arrested, it’s unclear why the suspect allegedly attacked the officer.
Police ID suspect who allegedly ambushed a Maryland cop while he stood in line at Chipotle https://t.co/8EmNfngccf
— FOX 5 DC (@fox5dc) December 18, 2020
According to a press release from the Montgomery County Police, the attack on the officer transpired at approximately 6:48 p.m. at the Chipotle restaurant located at 14925 Shady Grove Road.
The suspect, identified as 21-year-old Nyziere London, entered the restaurant and without saying a word, began punching the police officer in the face.
While the suspect continued the assault on the officer inside of the restaurant, another officer who happened to be inside of the establishment, caught wind of the commotion as she was paying for her food.
The second officer responded to the assault, assisting in helping to subdue London. Shortly thereafter, additional units arrived on the scene and took the suspect into custody.
While the officer who was attacked has not been identified by name, he was described as being a 26-year veteran of the Montgomery County Police Department. As for the sustained injuries, they were reported only as being non-life-threatening.
Officials say that there’s no evidence at this time to suggest that the officer and London had any sort of previous interactions personally or through the officer’s official duties.
When commenting in the incident, Chief Marcus Jones said the following:
“Officers work hard every day to ensure that our community stays safe.
Police work can often put officers in harm’s way, but I’m saddened that this unprovoked attack occurred while this officer was attempting to simply grab a quick bite to eat during his shift. This is another danger to our profession.”
London was reportedly booked into the Central Processing Unit and is currently being held without bail under charges of second-degree assault and resisting arrest.
Earlier in December, a police officer was seriously injured in California after a suspect had allegedly dragged the officer with his vehicle after an initiated stop.
Here’s that previous report.
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EL CAJON, CA – An unidentified El Cajon Police officer is reportedly in critical condition after a vehicle stop turned terribly wrong when the driver was said to have tried fleeing in the vehicle.
The traffic stop gone awry resulted in the officer being dragged and subsequently struck by another car.
Authorities identify man suspected of fleeing, injuring El Cajon police officer https://t.co/gvhNb0QoYw
— News 8 San Diego (@News8) December 15, 2020
Here are the details known thus far.
El Cajon Police Lieutenant Randy Soulard said that the injured officer had responded to a call to investigate a vehicle that was parked and somewhat blocking the roadway on E. Washington Avenue at roughly 8:30 a.m. on December 14th.
When the officer arrived at the location of the vehicle, the officer was said to have encountered a parked black SUV were two people were sleeping inside.
Both of the vehicle occupants were awoken, and one occupant was said to have provided a false ID card to the officer. Once the officer was began to investigate the matter further, the vehicle driver was said to have started and placed the car into gear.
That’s when the incident that resulted in the officer being injured was put into motion, according to Lt. Soulard:
“One of the officers attempted to detain the driver and keep him from fleeing the scene. In doing so, the officer was trapped in the vehicle and dragged for a distance as the driver fled.”
While the officer was being dragged, he was reportedly struck by another vehicle. From the impact of the second vehicle hitting the officer, he was said to have been “disconnected” from the suspect’s SUV and launched into the air.
Lt. Soulard stated that the officer is currently in critical condition, having been transported to the local hospital’s trauma center.
The suspect involved was said to have been able to flee after the officer was injured and is currently at large.
UPDATE: An El Cajon police officer is in critical condition after being dragged by a vehicle during a traffic stop that went awry this morning. https://t.co/5ziaXP3fxM
— NBC 7 San Diego (@nbcsandiego) December 14, 2020
During the investigation, police had learned that the SUV used during the crime was reportedly a rental out of San Diego. While authorities recovered the vehicle used in the hit-and-run on the officer, none of the occupants were inside of the SUV.
One local who resides in the area where the officer was injured hopes that the suspect turns himself in:
“To the person or persons who hit-and-run that officer, turn yourself in, dude. It’s not worth it. It’s Christmas time; that guy could be seriously injured. Give yourself up.”
Police believe that 41-year-old David Francis Cepeda Pangilinan is the man involved in the incident.
Pangilinan was described as being approximately 5-foot-6, weighing around 200-pounds with brown hair and eyes.
Outside of authorities noting the officer is in critical condition, no specifics on the exact nature of his injuries were revealed.
Authorities are urging that anyone with information on the suspect’s whereabouts to please call the El Cajon Police Department at (619) 579-3311 or anonymously call (888) 580-8477.
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