Vendetta

IT’S A FEAR experienced by every cop: someone you once arrested catching you in a vulnerable spot.

For former NYPD Officer Grantley Bovell, the nightmare came true when he was punched in the face in lower Manhattan on Tuesday by a career criminal he previously tangled with while assigned to the 40th Precinct in the Bronx, sources said.

Bovell was walking north on Centre St. outside Manhattan Criminal Court when Davone Jones, 36, rode up to him on his bike at about 1:50 p.m.

Jones has 48 prior arrests, including for a previous assault on a police officer in June 2016 and three other assaults in the past couple of years, and had tussled with Bovell several times.

Jones pushed his bike to the ground and said, “What now, motherf---er?!”

Bovell tried to avoid him, walking across the street.

Jones made it appear he was riding off, but when Bovell turned his back, Jones came up behind the former cop, sources said.

“Look how easy I could have gotten you,” Jones said.

Bovell (inset left) told him to get away from him. Jones again pushed his bike to the ground, shoved Bovell and punched him once in the face, sources said.

Jones (inset right) got back on his bike and rode north toward Grand St. He has not been caught, police said.

The ex-cop called police and went to the 5th Precinct stationhouse. He was treated for a minor bruise and cut.

Jones’ neighbors in Mott Haven said they recognized him as a former boxer, but they didn’t know him personally.

“I’ve seen him riding his bike around,” said one man who was hanging out on the stoop of a building at E. 141st St. by St. Ann’s Ave. “He’s always on the corner doing pushups, situps, dips.”

Bovell was fired recently from the NYPD for reasons that are unclear, but he has been arrested twice since 2014, sources said.

In September, he was charged with beating his girlfriend with her purse. And in September 2014, he was accused of acting in a manner injurious to a child.

Both arrests are sealed, sources said. Bovell’s mother, Maureen, said she hadn’t heard about the attack Wednesday. “This happened when?” she asked. “This is the first time I’m hearing of this.”

Bovell got some notoriety during the Occupy Wall Street protests on St. Patrick’s Day 2012, when he got into an fight with protester Cecily McMillan at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. McMillan was arrested and charged with assault.

During her criminal trial in 2014, Bovell claimed McMillan slammed him with an elbow in the eye after he asked her to leave the park. The Daily News reported that during his testimony, Bovell repeatedly cited the wrong eye.

McMillan said it was an accident. She was found guilty and sentenced to three months in prison and five years’ probation.

Bovell was sued several times as a police officer. Another OWS protester, Austin Guest, sued him for dragging him after arresting him.

Jones was arrested for punching a cop in Bronx court on June 20, 2016. He pleaded guilty to assault and got time served.