Protester charged in assault on cop nabbed with DNA

Posted: January 3, 2015 at 6:44 am

A CUNY grad student who tried to conceal his identity with a ski mask during an attack on an NYPD lieutenant was nabbed after investigators matched a DNA sample taken off his toothbrush, prosecutors said Friday.

Jarrod Shanahan, who surrendered to the district attorneys office New Years Day, was seen on video in the mask as two lieutenants were bashed by a mob of protesters on Dec. 13.

One cop sustained a broken nose and both were treated for bruises and cuts after the assault on the Brooklyn Bridge during a protest following a Staten Island grand jurys decision not to indict a city cop in the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

Shanahan's lawyer first offered to have his client surrender on Dec. 22, but he was not taken into custody until Thursday as investigators continued to probe his involvement.

Cops grabbed a mask off Shanahan during the scuffle and later used it for DNA testing, prosecutors said.

Shanahan, 29, of Brooklyn was slapped with second-degree assault, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest at his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court.

Bail was set at $25,000 bond or $20,000 cash by Judge Denise Dominguez and his pals were working on pooling cash to post his bail.

One outraged supporter lunged at CBS 2 reporter Ilana Gold outside the courthouse when questioned. The woman grabbed her cell phone and threw it across the street, police said. Gold recovered the phone and filed a grand larceny complaint with the 5th Precinct Friday, police said.

Shanahan is the fifth suspect arrested as part of the cop beating, which was sparked when they tried to arrest suspended CUNY professor Eric Linsker as he allegedly tried to toss a trash can from the pedestrian path onto the traffic lanes.

Prosecutor Christopher Hirsch said Shanahan wore the mask to conceal his identity before engaging (Lieutenants Philip Chan and Patrick Sullivan).

See more here:
Protester charged in assault on cop nabbed with DNA

Related Posts