NEW YORK — Chaos erupted Saturday when a Taser- and knife-wielding man brandished the weapons after a fight broke out in crowded Washington Square Park. A woman was trampled as people ran for cover during the pandemonium. Jason McDermott was arrested for menacing, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon, Law Officer reported.
McDermott, 42, appeared before a judge in Manhattan Criminal Court following the mob scene at the Greenwich Village greenspace that left a 43-year-old woman with injuries, according to the New York Post.
McDermott is accused of brandished the weapons during a confrontation inside the park around 12:40 a.m. Saturday. His actions allegedly resulted in a stampede of people fleeing for safety, which led to the woman getting crushed and injured in the process. She suffered scrapes, cuts and bruises and was released from a nearby hospital after receiving treatment.
During the court appearance, a prosecutor told the judge what McDermott said.
“It was self-defense. They were running at me. I have a knife on me for self-defense,” McDermott claimed, according to prosecutor Taylor Brisco.
Nevertheless, McDermott’s attorney paints him as a victim, the Post reported.
“He was the subject of an attack,” his lawyer, Damjan Panovski, reiterated in court. “He has no criminal record whatsoever, no contact with the criminal justice system.” It was “purely self-defense.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w4ktOdzakY
Prosecutors yielded and did not seek bail for McDermott, although they requested supvervised release, which the judge granted.
McDermott declined comment as he left court.
