Three drunk homeless men who attacked a cop on a New York City subway platform in a viral video are now facing riot charges after union outcry when they were initially released without charge.
Eliseo Alvarez, 36, has been charged with attempted assault, riot, menacing, and other charges. Juan Nunez, 27, was also charged with obstructing governmental administration and riot charges.
A third will face those counts and attempted assault.
The men were among five vagrants who attacked NYPD Officer Syed Ali, a combat veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq, at the East Broadway subway station on Saturday night.
Video of the incident, which has since been viewed more than 4.75 million times on social media, showed Ali using a baton and kicking at the men as they come at him. One of the men who charged at the officer missed and fell onto the tracks.
Two other men in the video appeared to be trying to break up the scuffle. They haven't been charged.
The NYPD initially only sent the men to the hospital for signs of extreme drunkenness, but after they were released, they returned to the East Broadway station to sleep.
Police then only initially cited the men for sleeping on the station floor. The Manhattan District Attorney's stopped prosecuting such violations in 2016.
The charges announced Wednesday come after criticism from a police union.
A New York City police union was upset that prosecutors did not bring criminal charges against the homeless men attacked the officer on a subway platform.