Off-duty cop allegedly punched elderly woman because of dog
http://nypost.com/2016/06/06/off-duty-cop-allegedly-punched-elderly-woman-because-of-dog/
An off-duty cop punched a 72-year-old woman in the face during an argument over her dog in Brooklyn, according to police sources and the lady.
NYPD Officer Vladimir Radionov, 46, allegedly became enraged when Janet Goldschmidt tried to bring her 9-pound Yorkshire terrier onto the elevator of their building on Sea Coast Terrace in Brighton Beach and began arguing with her around 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
“He came at me like a bull,” Goldschmidt told The Post. “He just attacked me.”
She said she’d just returned from walking her small dog, whose name is Alvick, when Radionov started cursing her after she stepped into the elevator.
“He says, ‘Take your motherf–king dog out of the elevator. I don’t want to go up with your f–king dirty dog,'” she recalled.
Dogs are only allowed in the service elevator, but Goldschmidt asked if she could ride up to her floor in the passenger lift first.
Goldschmidt said the off-duty officer became enraged after she entered the lift with her dog, Alvick.Photo: Gabriella Bass
“He said ‘No’ and started punching me,” she recalled. “I throw a cup of coffee, thinking this is going to stop him but it doesn’t. He punches me in the back. He grabs me and pulls me out like I am a child.”
Footage from a surveillance camera inside the elevator shows Radionov dragging the petite, 5-foot woman and her dog outside the lift, sources said.
Goldschmidt told police the cop then slugged her in the back of the head. A law enforcement source said the punch was not caught on camera.
At one point, the elderly woman fell backward to the floor, injuring her tailbone and hitting the back of her head. She also scraped her arm during the fall, sources said.
When Radionov tried to get back into the elevator, Goldschmidt lunged after him to try to retaliate, sources said.
He then allegedly gave her one last shove before she hurled a cup of coffee on him as the doors shut.
Janet Goldschmidt, 72, was allegedly attacked on an elevator with her dog, Alvick.Photo: Gabriella Bass
Goldschmidt called the building superintendent and described her attacker before he gave her Radionov’s name and apartment number.
She then called cops, who went up to Radionov’s apartment and brought him down on the elevator.
Once in the lobby, Goldschmidt identified Radionov to cops, who arrested him and later charged him with assault.
She was taken to Coney Island Hospital for treatment.
“He hit a 72-year-old woman, it is unbelievable,” Goldschmidt said. “I thought I was going to die from anxiety, I couldn’t breathe.”
Radionov will likely be arraigned Monday.
“This is like someone’s grandmother,” said a police source who questioned Radionov’s judgment as an officer based on how he handled the situation.
“He has a special manual for himself on professional manners and respect.”