STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A police officer wrestled a 55-year-old man to the ground after the defendant allegedly pointed a sword at a victim in West Brighton.
The officer also confiscated a loaded gun from Angel Bonano, of Broadway in West Brighton, in the encounter on Dec. 12 at West Street and Cary Avenue, according to the criminal complaint.
The episode began when an officer driving on Cary Avenue noticed Bonano and an unknown individual having a dispute. The officer saw Bonano holding a katana sword that was encased in a sheath, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
The defendant was yelling while he drew the sword from the sheath and pointed it toward the individual, the complaint alleges.
The officer stepped out of the patrol car, approached Bonano and ordered him to drop the sword, police said.
“No, I’m not dropping the sword,” the defendant is quoted as saying in the criminal complaint. “I don’t give a f—.”
The victim fled as the defendant continued to refuse to drop the weapon.
The officer then had to “take [the] defendant to the ground in order to secure the sword,” according to the complaint.
While waiting for other cops to arrive at the scene, the arresting officer found what authorities say was a .25-caliber, semi-automatic pistol inside a holster in a pocket of the defendant’s hooded sweatshirt. The Esperanza gun was loaded with six bullets, according to the complaint.
Bonano was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm and obstruction of governmental administration.
The defendant, who stands about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighs about 185 pounds, has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held at Rikers Island in lieu of bail set at $200,000/$100,000, according to public records.
An attorney for the defendant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.