Three police officers were stabbed and two of them suffered collapsed lungs while responding to a domestic incident at a home in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Tuesday.
Akwasi Owusu, 18, is charged with three counts of first degree assault for stabbing three police officers at 6 Ahern St. around 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday.
Owusu faced a judge Wednesday afternoon. About two dozen police officer showed up to Hillsborough County Superior Court to show support for their colleagues, two of whom remained hospitalized.
The three officers were responding to a domestic call when they say they found Owusu lying on a mattress and hiding his left hand. He allegedly refused to comply with orders and quickly became combative.
"He started to swing the knife around ultimately stabbing three of our officers," said Chief Carlo Capano.
The officers managed to handcuff Owusu and were then rushed to the hospital.
Two of them suffered collapsed lungs, and one of those patients will require surgery, according to prosecutors. The third officer was cut on the head and needed stitches. All three are expected to survive.
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"It's a call you never want to get," the chief said.
Capano says at that moment, he was not only worried about his officers, but he was also angry.
"Across the country, officers are being hurt every single day, and the worst part is that people forget, we're officers, we're wearing this uniform, but we're also humans," Capano said. "We have husbands, we have wives, we have kids."
While the officers' brothers and sisters in blue show their support, their chief is praising their courage.
"We have bodycam footage and I can tell you these officers did exactly what they should've done," he said. "I couldn't be more proud as their chief."
Owusu's defense attorney raised concerns over his mental health.
The judge ordered the Owusu held without bail until his next court appearance, calling him a "danger to the public."
