The female NYPD officer who was slugged in the face by a repeat offender in a wild, caught-on-camera attack in the Bronx has a “long road to recovery ahead,” police union officials said.
“I spoke to the officer today,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry told The Post Saturday.
“She is in pain but in good spirits,” the union head said. “She said she is deeply appreciative of the support she’s getting from her fellow cops and the public. ”
The rookie officer, identified in court documents as Mary Fay, also told him she was “just doing her job that day, trying to keep the peace.”
“She’s looking forward to getting back to doing that job,” he said. “But she has a long road to recovery ahead.”
Repeat offender Ernst Delma, 41, allegedly slugged Fay in the face when she tried to break up a fight between him and a group of kids on a Clason Point street corner around 7:10 p.m. Aug. 1, authorities and law enforcement sources said.
Video from the scene shows blood streaming from the officer’s face as a bystander helped her up.
Delma, who was on probation in New Jersey, was then tackled by other cops — embarrassingly leaving him with his buttocks showing in the video — at the corner of Rosedale and Randall Avenues.
Fay has just eight months on the job and five arrests under her belt, according to police records.
Delma sported a stitched-up swollen eye — and tried to show remorse for his actions — when he was walked out of a Bronx police precinct hours after his arrest.
“I didn’t mean to punch her,” said Delma, clad in a T-shirt sporting the iconic image of Muhammad Ali after he knocked out Sonny Liston. “It was a self-defense thing.”
“I’m really sorry for doing it. I didn’t know I did it, I was intoxicated,” he added before he was taken to court.
A judge was unmoved and set his bail at $100,000 bond. His next court appearance is set for Aug. 14.