Migrants Who Attacked Cops May Have Already Fled the State Under False Names

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At least eight other suspects who got into a brawl with two NYPD policemen in front of a migrant shelter on 42nd Street in Times Square are still being sought.

The 14 males involved are thought to be migrants, and the majority—if not all—of them are said to be living in the city's shelter system for undocumented immigrants. Five have been released without bond out of the six charged thus far.

It is thought that the first four individuals detained and charged got on a bus bound for Calexico, a border town in California. At the same time, police searched migrant centers across the city during the night.

According to the NYPD Chief of Patrol, he believes that this case should spark a more extensive discussion on the subject of bail laws.

The governor, the mayor's office, and the NYPD are all criticizing the Manhattan District Attorney more and more. The governor notes that while improvements to bail regulations have typically reduced the number of repeat offenders, he labeled the current state of affairs "abhorrent."

"This was a bail-eligible offense, why bail wasn't asked for, we don't have an answer for that, but the judge also had an opportunity to step in and remand them to Rikers -- now these four are on a bus, the whole system needs to be looked at," said Chief of Patrol John Chell.

The bus tickets for the four men's journey are thought to have been bought by a faith-based charity and the men provided false names.

The NYPD admits that their departing the town did not violate any laws, and they do not intend to pursue them.

"They have a court date, so if they don't come back for the court date, the judge will issue a bench warrant for them, but until that time, no, they are free to do what they want," Chell said.

The New York Immigration Coalition became increasingly concerned after the incident that a few bad apples would make the larger group of people seeking asylum targets.

"I think that we have to really highlight that these are isolated incidents," said Robert Agyemang, Vice President of the New York Immigration Coalition. "It feeds into kind of the belief system that these people are coming and they're messing up things when it's not really the case."

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, and on Twitter @NYPDTips.