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Suspect arraigned in Times Square machete attack on police officers
By
Isidoro Rodriguez
Published Jan 4, 2023
Modified Jan 4, 2023
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By
Isidoro Rodriguez
Published Jan 4, 2023
Modified Jan 4, 2023
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A teenager who prosecutors say attacked three police officers with a machete near Times Square on New Year's Eve was arraigned Wednesday morning on three counts of attempting to murder a police officer. Trevor Bickford did not enter a plea, and his case will be sent to a grand jury.
Bickford, 19, who was shot during the attack, is still being held at Bellevue Hospital. He attended the arraignment via a video livestream. The screen was not visible to reporters.
If he is convicted of the top charge against him, Bickford faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.
Assistant Manhattan District Attorney Lucy Nicholas said in court that Bickford told police he was motivated by religious extremism, and that he had traveled from Maine to New York specifically with intent to kill government officials. His mission was to carry out a jihad across the U.S. and beyond, Nicholas said. Bickford had already purchased an Amtrak ticket from New York to Miami to continue his mission.
Nicholas said Bickford told investigators that all government officials were his targets because they “cannot be proper Muslims because the U.S. government supports Israel.” He said he purposely targeted a police officer because “an officer is a man in a uniform with a weapon and all men of military age are targets,” Nicholas said in court.
Bickford attacked the three officers at the corner of West 52nd Street and Eighth Avenue just after 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Two of the officers suffered head wounds in the attack. They were treated at Bellevue Hospital and have been released.
Nicholas said Bickford told police that he dropped the machete while struggling with the officers. He said he then tried to grab one of their firearms to kill them, but was unable to get the gun out of the holster, Nicholas said.
Defense counsel Rosemary Vassallo-Vellucci of the Legal Aid Society, who was also on the livestream, requested that Bickford be released while he awaits trial due to his young age, the fact that this was his first arrest and because he has a job. The request was denied and Bickford was remanded to the state’s custody.
In a statement to the press, the Legal Aid Society said it is in the early stages of reviewing the case. “For now, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our client’s family.”
The statement also said Bickford waited in NYPD custody for nearly four days despite a court requirement that an arraignment take place within 24 hours of arrest.
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Isidoro Rodriguez
Isidoro Rodriguez is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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