A police officer was spat at and injured amid clashes with a wild crowd at Washington Square Park early Sunday morning — more than an hour after the NYPD enforced the park’s midnight curfew, sources said.
The mob began shaking the metal barricades erected around Washington Square Park around 1:35 a.m. — when one of the barriers was knocked over, the sources said.
Nikki Stone, 19, spat in one of the cop’s eyes as he went to upright the barriers, then shoved the railing down, causing an injury to the cop’s hand.
Meanwhile, Jason Baerga, 35, allegedly slapped the officer’s helmet, sources said.
Stone and Baerga were taken into custody — as were three people who allegedly tried to intervene in their collars.
Stone was charged with second-degree assault and obstruction of governmental administration, while Baerga faces attempted assault and obstruction charges.
The three others were given desk appearance tickets for obstruction.
Video posted on Twitter shows officers attempt to maintain a barricade at the edge of the park with metal fencing, as parkgoers taunt them from the other side.
“You a f–kin’ chump,” one person can be heard repeatedly telling cops — as an apparent provocation outside the frame of the camera sends dozens of officers charging after someone down Thompson Street.
Later in the clip, cops can be seen surrounding their target, then briefly losing control of the suspect when a woman attempts to intervene while screaming, “Go, go!”
The group of officers then pounces on the second woman, who they subdue on the ground.
The NYPD addressed the mayhem, tweeting, “Last night, Washington Square Park was closed just after midnight without incident. A group of agitators began knocking over barriers, causing an injury to an officer.”
The officer was taken to Lenox Hill Hospital with pain and irritation to his eye.
Sources said the crowd was also shooting off fireworks in the park.
Police have maintained a presence at the problem-plagued park, which has been the scene of all-night booze-filled dance parties and even unsanctioned boxing matches despite the midnight curfew.
On Saturday night, cops booted a few dozen people from the Greenwich Village greenspace promptly at midnight with no problems, putting up barricades secured with zipties at each entrance.
Locals have complained at length about the constant partying inside the park — which has often devolved into violence, including last week following Pride Day celebrations.
Additional reporting by Steven Vago
