UPDATE: Phoenix Police Department welcomed back officer George Manciu on July 28, just three months after he was attacked in central Phoenix.
———
ORIGINAL STORY:
A Phoenix police officer is out of the hospital after having multiple facial bones broken by a man during a domestic violence dispute Sunday, April 30.
Court documents state that 24-year-old Rudy Gomez was arrested on two felonies for assaulting a police officer, which resulted in the officer being hospitalized and needing surgery.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) said in a statement that the officer was almost unrecognizable only minutes after the assault.
Court documents also state that the officer was flagged down by a woman during a domestic dispute near Central and Thomas Avenues around 9:30 p.m.
A woman told him she was assaulted by the father of her children, according to police.
Gomez allegedly told the officer to arrest him before he attacked.
The documents go on to say that Gomez allegedly told police he flipped and that “my rage just came out.”
“The officer’s injuries are horrific; two broken eye orbital bones, lacerations on the head and above the eye, and a broken nose,” said PLEA Present Darrell Kriplean.
Phoenix police said Wednesday that the officer was released from the hospital Tuesday night, two days after the attack. He is continuing his recovery at home.
Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan tweeted the following message regarding the incident:
Please see statement from @ChiefPHXPD pic.twitter.com/lZ5cC9Zzsr
— Phoenix Police (@PhoenixPolice) May 2, 2023
Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) released the following statement:
A uniformed Phoenix Police Officer was viciously attacked on Sunday night by a suspect named Rudy Gomez. The officer was responding to a call for help from Gomez’ girlfriend following a domestic violence incident.
When our officer attempted to take Gomez into custody, the suspect punched our officer in the face, rendering him unconscious. Gomez continued his attack, brutally punching the officer in the face an estimated dozen times and then stomping on the officer’s face. The attacker fled but was soon apprehended by responding officers.
Because of the vanilla media release by the police department, media reports have said our officer was hospitalized with serious but non-fatal injuries, but that doesn’t begin to convey the brutality of the attack. The officer’s injuries are horrific; two broken eye orbital bones, lacerations on the head and above the eye, and a broken nose. He was almost unrecognizable only minutes after the assault. It’s nothing short of miraculous that he survived.
To add insult to injury, a Maricopa County judge, Kenneth Skiff, set bond at a shockingly low $60,000 secured appearance bond, despite the seven charges that include two Class 2 felonies for aggravated assault on a police officer, a prior aggravated assault, and the $100,000 cash bond requested by the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
Every society needs law and order to survive. Every law-abiding citizen should be incensed by the callousness of the uncontrolled rage Gomez displayed in his attack on our officer.
The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association is outraged over this horrific attack and the shameful miscarriage of justice by the court. Our officers deserve better.
