An ex-NYPD officer accused of fatally stabbing a Brooklyn jogger told authorities he was at the crime scene with a knife because he believed individuals were going to harm his family, according to a criminal complaint.
Sayed Mohassib, 27, a former police officer and current city public-school teacher’s aide, allegedly made the statement after being apprehended in connection with the Oct. 30 slaying of Katie Suarez. Suarez, 28, was found stabbed twice in the neck and left to die while jogging along the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn.
Surveillance video captured Mohassib moving toward the crime scene and later fleeing it in a timeframe consistent with the attack, the complaint stated. Law enforcement sources said Mohassib was identified using facial recognition technology and existing government records, including fingerprints and photographs from his brief NYPD tenure and his work with the city Department of Education.
According to court documents, Mohassib told detectives he felt compelled to go to the park that day because "people" would otherwise hurt his family. He claimed he then went to the Verrazzano Bridge, returned, and sat on a bench, becoming covered in blood. He maintained to officers that he "did not stab anyone."
The complaint further details that Mohassib returned to his Bensonhurst home, later emerging in underwear and disposing of items in a garbage chute. Sources indicated that detectives were searching a sanitation barge for the murder weapon.
Mohassib also admitted to having blood on his hands and in his apartment, which he attempted to clean, court documents said. He identified himself in video surveillance footage.
Investigators found blood spatter on the walls in Mohassib's room, which he claimed he was unable to fully clean. His prior attempts to join the NYPD were reportedly unsuccessful due to concerns over his mental state, including appearing "disheveled."
Mohassib was arraigned and ordered held without bail. Suarez was a victim of a seemingly random attack while out for her run.