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Officer Shane Churaman, hearing an alert shortly after midnight, stopped a sedan with Pennsylvania license plates being driven by 26-year-old Patrick S. Chakauya Jr. in the area of South Washington Avenue and Carnation Street.
A search for Chakauya involved several area towns and a New Jersey State Police helicopter.
The Bergenfield Volunteer Ambulance Corps was summoned to take Chakauya to the hospital for an evaluation after Churaman found him, Detective Lt. William Duran said.
Police Officers Christopher Brugger, Matt Siemaszkiewicz, and Gregory Slater also responded to assist, he said.
When the ambulance arrived, Chakauya “launched an unprovoked attack on the officers” with a 5-inch metal nail file, Duran said. "A violent struggle ensued.”
Three of the officers were injured, he said:
- Siemaszkiewicz was stabbed in his left cheek and cut on his head;
- Churaman was cut on his face;
- Brugger was cut on his arms.
All of the injured officers were taken to New Bridge Medical Center in Paramus for treatment.
Chakauya was taken there for a psychological evaluation. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a detention hearing.
Police charged him with three counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, resisting arrest and illegal weapons possession.
Teaneck police had charged Chakauya in February with aggravated assault on an officer. He spent two days in the Bergen County Jail before a judge ordered him released pending further court action.
It was unclear why he was at the hospital in Englewood.
“We are very proud of the way our officers handled themselves,” Duran said. “We’re also thankful that they will make a full recovery and that this potentially deadly situation was resolved without any further injuries.”
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ALSO SEE: A Bergenfield man stole three different vehicles from the same neighborhood – all of which had been left running with the keys inside – to get him to and from Paterson, said police who arrested him.
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