Cleaver-bash cop tells of struggles
A cop who was attacked with a meat clever and suffered a serious head injury gave an emotional statement at the would be killer’s sentencing.
Detective Brian O’Donnell, who today has a large scar down the left side of his face from the 2016 attack, directly addressed his attacker Akram Joudeh in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“I was asked do you hate him for what he had done to you,” he said. “The answer is no. I can’t bring myself to hate him. Will I forgive him? Not today, but maybe in the future. He must pay for what he has done to me and my family as well as the other police officers affected by this.”
O’Donnell (photo) said he suffers from permanent nerve damage, frequent headaches, and post-traumatic stress. Joudeh was convicted in March of attempted murder and assault, and he will now serve 20 years in prison. He betrayed no emotion at the sentencing.
“I have had to teach myself how to do everyday things again like sipping water, eating, and pronouncing certain words,” he said. “Every time I look in the mirror I see the scar and the damage it has caused. I am not reminded of you, but I am reminded that I took action and did my job to prevent you from attacking innocent people on the street.”
In his statement, O’Donnell, then assigned to the 19th Precinct Detective Squad, recalled a normal morning on Sept. 15, 2016. He was on the subway after leaving Upper East Side stationhouse to go to an event at his children’s school.
“I walked the same route I had done hundreds of times before, but on this day, my life and the life of my wife was about to be changed forever,” he said.
On 34th St., he heard sirens and saw police with guns drawn and people fleeing. At the center was Joudeh armed with the cleaver and he was running right toward O’Donnell.
Joudeh had gone into a psychotic rage when he saw that his car had been booted.
“As you got closer to me, I knew you needed to be stopped before you could attack an innocent civilian or a police officer,” he said.
O’Donnell said he pushed Joudeh into a UPS truck. “I turned and saw the cleaver coming down, but I was lucky enough to get my left arm up and slow down the hit,” he said. “You hit me twice with such intensity that it fractured my skull. Your only intention that day was to try and kill me.”
Joudeh fought with the police swinging the cleaver before three officers opened fire. Joudeh was shot six times.
“I had no idea my face was cut wide open until cops on the scene informed me how bad it was,” he said. I could feel that I was getting soaked with blood. I started to think about my wife and children and was I going to see them again.”
Medics rushed him to the hospital “The memory of going under the lights while being rushed to the hospital will haunt me forever,” he said.
About 40 people attended the sentencing to support O’Donnell. Outside court, he told a Daily News reporter that the cops had no choice but to shoot Joudeh. “He made the police shoot him,” he said. “He made the cops make a decision they never want to make. He brought it upon himself. Thank God I have a good plastic surgeon.”
O’Donnell said he felt the sentence was just. “I wish it were longer, but 20 years is 20 years. It will suffice,” he said. “He can sit in jail and think about what he did. He didn’t even apologize. He made himself the victim.”