Suspect bites off part of police sergeant’s finger at Los Angeles metro station

LOS ANGELES (KCAL/KCBS) - A Los Angeles police sergeant was hospitalized after part of his finger was allegedly bitten off by a man he was escorting out of a metro station.

Police say officers were working at a Los Angeles metro station around 10:30 a.m. Thursday when one noticed a man who was allegedly in possession of drug paraphernalia. The officers began escorting the man off the train and out of the station when, police say, he got violent.

A police sergeant remains hospitalized after police say the suspect bit off part of his finger during the resulting fight. Surgeons tried to reattach the sergeant’s finger but were unable to do so.

Authorities identified the suspect, who is described as being homeless, as 36-year-old Ephraim Okorie. He was briefly hospitalized for minor injuries from the fight before being booked on a charge of mayhem and resisting an executive order. He is being held on $100,000 bail.

Metro rider Kaitlyn Zatkus says she sees similar fights “almost on the daily.”

Metro recently released a report that found crime on the county transit system rose 21% this past February compared to the same time last year. Metro says the statistics reflect more enforcement, which resulted in more arrests, as well.

“We’re addressing those issues by way of increasing the amount of uniformed personnel that we have on the system, identifying where the hotspots are and deploying our resources,” said Metro Chief Security Officer Gina Osborn.

The union that represents Los Angeles police officers says more needs to be done when it comes to accountability and the criminal justice system.

“Crimes do happen, and there should be none crimes here. This should be a safe place for everyone,” said Metro rider Sam Hernandez.

During a discussion about public safety, several directors on the Metro board said that violent crime is often taken out of context when there are about 300,000 boardings daily that go well.