Quantcast
Eder Loor: Cop stabbed in the head in East Harlem – Metro US

Eder Loor: Cop stabbed in the head in East Harlem

A police officer is in critical condition after being stabbed in the head this morning in East Harlem.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that Eder Loor was stabbed around 10:30 a.m. by a suspect he described as emotionally disturbed.

Loor was stabbed in his left temple with a knife that penetrated his skull, causing bleeding on the brain that required immediate surgery. The knife penetrated his brain, the mayor said.

The surgery continued this evening, but Bloomberg said doctors were “very optimistic” about his condition.

“The smiles were on their faces,” he said. “Having said that, he’s certainly not out of the woods yet, and we really won’t know for a few hours.”

Bloomberg said Loor and his partner responded to a call about an emotionally disturbed person in East Harlem.

When they arrived at the building, they were met by the woman who called 911. She told them her son, Terrence Hale, 26, was in the apartment upstairs, and needed to go to the hospital.

They found Hale in the building lobby, approached him and told him they would take him to a hospital, Bloomberg said.

Then, Bloomberg said, Hale stabbed Loor with a knife, slashing him in the head.

Loor, 28, joined the force in 2006. He has a young daughter, and his wife is pregnant, Bloomberg said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Bloomberg both visited Loor in the hospital today, along with his patrol partner, who was treated for high blood pressure.

“This was a textbook example of what they should do,” Bloomberg said. “Unfortunately, even when you do the right thing, policing, as we all know, is a very dangerous job.”

A suspect was arrested, and a knife was recovered at the scene, Bloomberg said.

Hale was arrested, with assault charges pending and was taken to Metropolitan Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He was arrested previously in 2002, for robbery, and in 2006 for assault, in which he stabbed the victim with a knife.

He was also arrested one time in New Jersey, for riot and one time in Pennsylvania, for assault.

2012 already a dangerous year for police

Loor is the eighth police officer seriously injured this year. 2012 has already been deemed the worst year for officer-shooting injuries since 2007, the mayor said.

– Earlier this month, three of the cops were shot in the leg; one was grazed in the face during a hostage standoff in Brooklyn. All four were treated at Lutheran Medical Center and two were soon released.

– Officer Kevin Brennan narrowly escaped death when he was shot in the back of the head in Bushwick in February. The bullet went into his head but miraculously missed his brain.

– Police Officer Angel Cruz was stabbed in his head after approaching a suspect who was smoking on a subway platform.

– On Easter Sunday, two officers in two separate incidents were stabbed, both in the Bronx.