Assault in Central Park: Man in Blue Lashes Out, Branch in Hand
The disturbing encounter between a 49-year-old male park-goer and the suspect, who wore a dog leash around his neck, took place around East Drive in the lower 70s.
| 09 Mar 2025 | 04:33
Police are warning people to be on the lookout for this unidentified stick-wielding man. (
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Earlier this month, NYPD Crime Stoppers announced that the public should be on the lookout for a violent stick-wielding man wanted for assault in Central Park. That’s a warning that President Teddy Roosevelt would likely have appreciated, being famous for his slogan “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” But as the city’s aggressively no-nonsense police commissioner from 1895 to ‘97, he would have been angered by it in this context.
The details are as follows:
On Wednesday, March 5, at approximately 8:20 a.m., in Central Park at 70-02 East Drive, an unidentified individual engaged in a dispute with a 49-year-old male victim.
As its address suggests, this part of East Drive is just about even with 70th Street, due west of where the Frick Collection stands on Fifth Avenue.
Judging by the photographic evidence, including the telltale cobblestone border to an asphalt walking path, Our Town believes that surveillance images show the suspect on Terrace Drive near East Drive—which is about where 72nd Street would be.
Whatever the longitude, the argument between the two men escalated to the point of physical attack, with the unidentified individual striking the victim with what appears to be a small, thin branch from a gray tree, causing an injury to the victim’s left hand.
The unidentified individual then fled on foot, alighting northbound inside the park to the proverbial “parts unknown.” The victim refused medical attention.
Though the cops don’t elaborate, the attacker appears to be a physically fit white male in his 30s or 40s with a close-cropped “Balbo” or “ducktail” beard. He is dressed mostly in shades of blue, including his sneakers, jeans, lightweight jacker or windbreaker.
His most distinguishing equipage is the blue dog leash loosely knotted around his neck with the dog-collar clip hanging down.
It’s unclear from the fragmentary police report if the suspect had a dog with him at some point or if the leash served some other non-canine purpose.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.