Homeless man allegedly bites off LAPD sergeant's finger in East Hollywood
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LOS ANGELES - Officials said a Los Angeles police sergeant is without a part of his pinky after it was bitten off by a man experiencing homelessness.
The Los Angeles Police Department sergeant was patrolling the Metro Red Line at Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue in East Hollywood Thursday around 10:15 a.m. when a man aboard the train allegedly had drug paraphernalia on him. The LAPD officers approached the man, later identified as 36-year-old Ephraim Okorie, and escorted him off the train.
They quickly escorted Okorie off the train, and that’s when police say he became violent and attempted to fight off LAPD officers at the scene. A short time later, authorities said Okorie bit the sergeant.
The LAPD sergeant was taken to the hospital after getting his pinky finger bit. The Sergeant was on overtime work when he was patrolling transit.
The tip of his pinky was retrieved by paramedics but apparently, doctors were not able to reattach it.
Okorie was arrested and is facing several charges, including assault on a peace officer.
Depending on which stretch of the Metro line you’re on, trains are patrolled by either Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies, LAPD officers, or private security. Guards FOX 11 spoke to say the incident is of concern but sadly, it’s just another day on the train.
The homeless problem in the area isn't just limited to violent behavior. A security guard working under contract at the Metro Red Line shared videos of a homeless man defecating on the platform. Another video shared by the same employee showed a man bleeding from a stab wound.
"People fighting. Knife attacks," said Kenyon Dove, a security contractor FOX 11 spoke with. "Pretty much kind of daily around here, especially with the drug use and homelessness."
Read more of this story from FOX 11 Los Angeles.