Rocco Parascandola
New York Daily News
MANHATTAN, N.Y. — An enraged Manhattan motorist couldn’t curb his anger when he saw two city traffic agents writing him a parking ticket Tuesday — so he clubbed them with a pipe, police said.
The two traffic agents were writing summonses at W. 28th St. and Broadway around 9 a.m., when Michael Didonato, 52, of Staten Island realized his black Chevy pickup was next and flipped out, cops said.
“In response to receiving the summons,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea wrote in a department-wide email obtained by the Daily News. “The driver got out of the vehicle and struck both [agents] with a metal pipe, before fleeing the scene.”
Both agents were hit from behind, with one struck in the back and the other in lower right leg, police said.
Shea vowed detectives would find the pugilistic pipe pounder, and less than 12 hours later, police arrested Didonato, charging him with felony assault and weapon possession.
https://twitter.com/NYPDShea/status/1214746269513605121 https://twitter.com/NYPDDetectives/status/1214742649221140486
“I want to reiterate what I’ve said many times before: An attack on any member of the New York City Police Department is an attack on society, and must be denounced by all New Yorkers,” Shea said. “Respect is a two-way street. I know you already exemplify that every day, and we are asking for that respect to be reciprocated – for people to always recognize you as the professionals you are.”