By TATIANA DELIGIANNAKIS
May 31, 2008
Two off-duty rookie cops heading to a Washington Heights club were attacked by a mob of men during a botched robbery attempt yesterday.
Joseph Rivera, 22, Roman Moses, 25, and another man were walking to a nightclub shortly after midnight on West 164th Street when six to eight men approached them from behind.
One of the suspects punched Rivera in the head, police said. The others pounced on the cops and the third unidentified man.
One of the attackers grabbed a chair from a nearby pile of trash and started beating Rivera over the head until the chair broke, police said. During the struggle, a shot was fired from one of the cops' gun - hitting an assailant in the shoulder, police said.
The injured suspect was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Two other unidentified suspects were arrested later at a nearby apartment.
Rivera received numerous stitches at Bellevue Hospital, police said.
tatiana.deligiannakis@nypost.com
