A Bronx man was arraigned Friday on a misdemeanor assault charge for allegedly punching a cop so hard he hit his head on the pavement - leaving him with life-threatening brain injuries.Keith McNeill, 20, admitted he decked off-duty Officer Ernest Rodrigz when he saw him chasing a young man who threw a water balloon at his car on the corner of 181st St. and Tiebout Ave.
"I saw him chasing a young male black," McNeill told cops, according to prosecutors. "I punched him. One shot to the chin and he fell to the ground."
Bronx Judge William Mogulescu ordered McNeill held on $2,500 bond.
"My son is a good, f---ing son!'' McNeill's mother told the Daily News after the arraignment.
McNeill's lawyer, Michael Murphy, said his client was simply acting as a "good Samaritan."
"He thought he saw a young man being chased by another person," Murphy said. "He did not know he was a police officer. It's tragic."
McNeill has two open felony cases, including a June 7 arrest for stalking, felony assault and robbery, sources said.
Rodrigz, an instructor at the Police Academy, is in a medically-induced coma in the intensive care unit at St. Barnabas Hospital.
The 15-year-department veteran was on vacation, driving with his 7-year-old son near his home around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday when a youngster on the street threw a water balloon at his car.
He pulled over at the corner of 181st St. and Tiebout Ave., got out and walked up to a group of youths on the corner. That's when he was punched and fell on his head, according to police sources.
Rodrigz underwent brain surgery Wednesday night as doctors worked to relieve the swelling in his brain.
Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch, who watched McNeill's arraignment with 15 other cops, said the suspect was no "good Samaritan."
"A good Samaritan would have called the police, and we would not have a police officer in coma," Lynch said. "While we're dismayed that bond was set in this case, we will follow it to it's conclusion to ensure justice is served."
