The beat goes on.
A total of 1,286 NYPD officers were injured in battles with suspects over the last quarter of 2023, bringing the final annual tally to a record 5,363 injured cops, department data show.
The 40th Precinct in Mott Haven, the Bronx, was the most dangerous battleground, where 135 cops were injured during struggles with lawbreakers, the stats show.
Next, with 129 injuries, was the 75th Precinct in Brooklyn, which covers East New York and Cypress Hills.
The 46th Precinct (128), 44th Precinct (126) and 47th Precinct (117), all in the Bronx, rounded out the Top 5 most dangerous areas for the city’s Finest.
“No real surprises here – all very busy commands where perps are emboldened to fight,” observed one law enforcement source.
Radical protests, an influx of criminal migrants, bail reform, anti-cop rhetoric and soft-on-crime prosecutors is the brew that fuels the dangerous and disturbing trend, experts told The Post.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry called the assaults on NYPD cops a “full-blown epidemic.” He added: “Even the simplest summonses are turning into all-out brawls. Our justice system needs to send a clear message, once and for all — is you assault a police officer, you will stay in jail.”
The number of cops hurt by suspects surged 20% in 2022, when 4,724 uniformed officers suffered injuries in attacks, compared to 3,933 in 2021. The 5,363 attacks in 2023 was 13% higher than the previous year (4,737).
The war against cops has officers searching for greener pastures.
Former NYPD Lt. Rob Corbett, 50, was assaulted and bloodied during the George Floyd protests/riots in May 2020.
He was hit in the face with a flying brick while trying to keep the peace near the Barclay Center in Brooklyn and later in Clinton Hill.
Corbett, who needed stitches and extensive dental work, retired in April 2022 after 25 years on the job and hightailed it to Florida, where he’s now a cop near Orlando.
“I couldn’t do it [the NYPD job] anymore, given the state of the laws, you know, the changes to the laws and all of that stuff as well,” Corbett told The Post this week. “So it wasn’t the profession it was just where I was doing the profession.”
Corbett, who has two kids, a 12-year-old boy, and 14-year-old girl, said his new job has given him a new outlook.
“It’s so much friendlier down here. You know, it’s a better place to be a cop and the laws are so much better,” he explained. “I gave up my rank and my seniority, you know, started from scratch at a huge pay cut. But the quality of life is a million times better.”