Bronx slash not a hate crime: cops

THE SLASHING of a Bronx man while he walked with his year-old son is not a hate crime because the dad recanted his statement about the attacker screaming an obscenity about “your country,” police sources said Wednesday.

Joseph Key, 24, was arrested Saturday for the Feb. 1 assault on Ociel Herrera on E. 139th St. near Willis Ave. in Mott Haven, but police said the slashing wasn’t fueled by racial hatred.

According to police sources, Key is emotionally disturbed and attacked Herrera, 41, because he thought Herrera was following him.

Key was charged with assault, acting in a manner injurious to a child and hate crime harassment. He was ordered held on $10,000 bail during an arraignment at Bronx Criminal Court on Sunday.

Police sources said the harassment charges will be dropped. Key is expected to be indicted for felony assault, but not as a hate crime.

Last Thursday, Herrera, who moved to New York from Guerrero, Mexico, in 2009, told the Daily News about his frightening encounter, and maintained he was the victim of a hate crime.

“What he told me is stuck in my brain, ‘F--- your country,’ ” Herrera said. “I saw hate in his eyes.”

He later admitted people he spoke to on the street suggested he report the attack as a hate crime because he’s an undocumented immigrant, sources said.

Herrera is not facing any charges, sources said. He didn’t return a call seeking comment.