72-Year-old Man Indicted in Assault on Cop in Pearl River

A 72-year-old Pearl River man who was turned away from a Pearl River bar and punched an Orangetown police officer who was trying to help him into a cab has been indicted on charges of assault and resisting arrest.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said Thomas Rowles of 69 Pilgrim Court was indicted by a Rockland County grand jury in New City in connection with a June 15 incident on Central Avenue in which he was intoxicated and broke a police officer's nose.

Police said Orangetown police officers and an officer from the Rockland County Sheriff's Department went to the bar after a report of an intoxicated person who was unwanted at the bar. When police arrived, Rowles was attempting to enter the bar.

Outside the bar, a car service vehicle was waiting for Rowles. Police said officiers tried to assist Rowles with getting into the cab, but Rowles yelled an obscenity at the officers and punched an Orangetown officer in the face.

The injured officer was taken to Nyack Hospital, where he was treated and later released.

During the incident Rowles suffered a cut on his head and was taken by members of South Orangetown Ambulance Corps to Nyack Hospital.