New York’s longest-serving chaplain was mugged early Tuesday morning but the attacker ran away quickly when he saw he had attacked a member of New York’s Finest.
NYPD Chief Chaplain Rabbi Alvin Kass, a three-star chief chaplain, has served the spiritual needs of the city’s police department for 54 years.
The 84-year-old rabbi was walking on the Upper West Side near Riverside Drive and West 108th Street in Manhattan at 5:45 am when he was approached by a man who told him he was hungry and needed money before attacking him, shoving his hands into the rabbi’s pockets and pulling out his wallet.
The attacker took the cash but dropped the wallet fast when he saw the rabbi’s police shield and fled on foot, according to police.
The rabbi was not injured and no arrests have yet been made.
Rabbi Kass was also attacked in the same neighborhood in 2016 while walking for his health in the early morning hours. He was shoved from behind and sustained minor injuries.
The incident is under investigation.