Officials who let NYC sucker-punch suspect out of jail should 'be removed from office:' Police union chief

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Whoever allowed NYC sucker-punch suspect out of jail should 'be removed from office:' Maryland police union president

Clyde Boatwright, president of the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police, examines the nationwide uptick in violent crime and the impact of bail reform policies on 'America Reports.'

The president of the Maryland Fraternal Order of Police on Monday called for the firings of those responsible for releasing the New York City suspect onto the streets without bail after his caught-on-camera unprovoked sucker punch knockout last week. 

"All of these people who had a hand in this gentleman being released should step down or be removed from office," Clyde Boatwright said during an appearance on "America Reports." 

Bui Van Phu, the 55-year-old homeless convicted sex offender was released without bail last Thursday after he was seen in video footage approaching 52-year-old Jesus Cortes, a Mexican immigrant whom he never met, outside Fuego Tipico and delivering a single blow to the back of his head. Cortes was taken off a ventilator as his condition slowly improves after suffering a skull fracture, broken cheek, and brain bleeding and being placed in a medically-induced coma.

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NYPD released video of an Aug. 12 unprovoked assault that unfolded at approximately 10:45 p.m. in front of 163 E 188 St in the Bronx. The allegedly attacker, Bui Van Phu, 55, was arrested Friday for a parole violation, authorities said.  (NYPD)

With New York's bail reform policies serving as a revolving door for detained criminals, Boatwright said it's now up to judges to "step up and…put the guy in jail."

"The criminal justice system needs to address this violent crime and men like this should not be allowed to be on the streets to victimize anyone else," he told Fox News host John Roberts.

Boatwright said that fed-up communities will unite to vote out prosecutors who've embraced progressive criminal reform policies that they blame for the uptick in criminal activity in their neighborhoods.

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Phu's release prompted intervention from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul who ordered his return to Rikers Island on Saturday for violating the terms of his parole. (Brendan McDermid)

"We have to get back to having good policy to keep our community safe and address the violent crime that our communities are seeing," he said. "We have to get back to a balanced system to allow our law enforcement officers to do their jobs effectively and let the court system prosecute those that offend."

Phu's release prompted intervention from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who ordered his return to Rikers Island on Saturday for violating the terms of his parole.

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A state corrections official told a judge that Phu was a member of the notorious Born to Kill street gang founded in the 1980s by first-generation Vietnamese immigrants, N.Y. Daily News reported. Phu was previously convicted of first-degree sex abuse in the Bronx in 1995 and was sentenced to six years to life in prison. He was paroled in 2019 and is now registered as a Level 3 sex offender — the most serious designation — for sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl in 1994, according to state records.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.