The off-duty NYPD cop who was savagely beaten and robbed at knifepoint in the Bronx by two masked brutes was finally released from the hospital Wednesday to raucous applause from his fellow officers.
Officer Chowdhury Nafees, who hasn’t been identified publicly until now, was discharged from Jacobi Medical Center Wednesday afternoon — four days after the sick attack left him nursing multiple severe facial fractures.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and scores of other cops gave him a guard of honor as the 27-year-old was escorted from the hospital in a wheelchair.
Nafees, who was flanked by his family, could be seen saluting his comrades as he was led to a waiting NYPD vehicle.
“Saluting our injured brother,” the Police Benevolent Association union posted on X alongside video of the hero’s exit.
“While he has a long road ahead, he will fight hard to get back to work. In the meantime, we will fight to bring the two individuals responsible for such unspeakable violence against a NYC police officer to justice.”
Nafees’ discharge came just as the NYPD revealed they had finally nabbed both suspects wanted over the brutal caught-on-camera attack on one of New York’s Finest.
Wayne Lucas, 22, was taken into custody leaving a house in Richmond, Va., Wednesday, according to police.
The suspect was wearing a wig in an unsuccessful bid to hide his identity, law enforcement sources said.
His alleged accomplice, Taveon Hargrove, 23, was collared in Virginia on Tuesday.
“Come for one of us and you’ll have the full force of the NYPD coming for you,” the police commissioner said Wednesday in the wake of the arrests.
The pair are accused of pinning the Nafees to the ground at knifepoint and then stomping on his face on St. Peter’s Ave. in Westchester Square early Saturday, cops said.
Footage of the saga showed one of two masked goons holding a blade to the cop’s neck as the other rifled through the victim’s pockets — allegedly making off with his Glock 19 9mm service weapon and a handful of his belongings.
Before fleeing, the suspects could be seen pummeling the officer multiple times in the face and booting him in the head.
