Police say a Bronx man is facing several charges after he allegedly struck a 77-year-old woman with a hammer before leading police on a wild car chase that also injured two police officers in the Van Cortlandt Village section of The Bronx last month.

 

A police spokesperson said officers from the 50th Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a person who had reportedly assaulted a woman with a hammer at Putnam Avenue and West 238th Street at 1.30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22.

 

The police spokesperson told Norwood News, “Upon arrival of police to the scene, a 77-year-old female reported that she was walking when an unknown male approached her and struck her both hands with a hammer causing swelling and bruising.” The spokesperson continued, “The suspect then intentionally struck the trunk of a parked vehicle with a hammer, causing damage.”

 

Without disclosing details of a dramatic police pursuit into Manhattan which apparently ensued, the police spokesperson said, “The suspect then intentionally struck a marked police vehicle causing damage and minor injuries to the two officers. While attempting to apprehend the suspect, he [the suspect] slammed a police officer’s hand in the car door, causing bruising, swelling and bleeding.”

 

Norwood News spoke to a young woman from Brooklyn moments after the car chase unfolded, who had been asking drivers for change at the northbound Fordham Road exit of the Major Deegan Expressway. She told us she had witnessed several police vehicles stop a black vehicle entering the Deegan and traveling in a southbound direction. She said the vehicle U-turned, driving against the traffic, sparking the police pursuit.

 

Police radio transmissions reveal the car, a black BMW, fled over the West 207th Street Bridge that connects The Bronx and Manhattan, where the vehicle was cornered a second time by police at West 206th Street and 9th Avenue. Police were later heard on police radio chasing the vehicle into Manhattan along F.D.R. Drive.

 

A female officer was heard reporting to her dispatcher, “We have him at 206th and 9th. He’s still in the vehicle and we have the street blocked.” However, minutes later officers were heard chasing the suspect on the F.D.R.

 

One officer is heard asking a dispatcher what the suspect was wanted for. The dispatcher replies, “It’s for a male that was hitting people with a hammer.” Police later arrested Orlando Roper, 35, of Sedgwick Avenue. He was charged with assault, assault of a police officer, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest.

 

Residents of Roper’s building, which is located just a half-mile from where the hammer attack took place, were shocked to learn of the incident. One male resident of the building’s 12th floor said, “Oh my gosh!” Asked if he knew Roper, he said, “Not really.

 

The resident then went on to describe a bizarre incident that occurred in the lobby of his building involving a person who he described as irrational though he said he couldn’t say if it was Roper or not. He said that on Oct. 11, early in the morning, as he was entering his building another man followed him inside.

He said the man screamed menacingly and the resident knew immediately that he was irrational and therefore immediately hightailed it out of building, seeking sanctuary inside his car. “He had a mask on, and with glasses,” he said of the man.

 

The resident, who said he has lived in the building for more than 40 years, said he waited in his car for an hour and did not make a police report at the time because he was traveling out of the country on a flight the same day. Referring to the hammer incident, the resident added, “I’m worried… I mean it’s very unsafe. This guy lives in the building and if he can do that…”

 

After learning of the police chase and hammer attack, a second resident of the building, a woman, said, “Well there’s a lot of seniors and I’m not much younger here so that’s kind of scary.” She added, “I’ve lived here for 53 years – never had an issue. The only problem we’re having lately is the ‘porch pirates’ – only we don’t have a porch.” She added that numerous packages have been stolen from the building’s mailroom and from outside the apartment doors of residents.

 

Norwood News asked the NYPD to confirm details about the police chase, the crash, and the location of Roper’s arrest. We did not receive an immediate response.  We will update this story should more information become available. Attempts to reach Roper were unsuccessful.

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.