Officers injured responding to bar brawl during violent Hoboken weekend

HOBOKEN — An Uber driver said he was beaten by five people early Sunday morning in the second reported violent incident in the waterfront city this weekend.

Driver Yevgeniy Tsarkov told FiOS1 New Jersey that five people threw him onto the ground and kicked him early Sunday morning because he refused to give them a ride even after they offered him cash to take the job. He said there were too many people in the group to ride in his vehicle.

Tsarkov said when he followed them they beat him up a second time.

Uber spokesman Andrew Hasbun in an email told New Jersey 101.5 that his company is aware of the incident. "We are investigating and stand ready to help police."

Hoboken Police Chief Kenneth Ferrante has not yet returned a message seeking comment.

Hoboken police reported as many as 40 men and women were involved in the fight that broke out around 4 a.m. Saturday near the Hoboken Bar & Grill on Washington Street.

Officers who happened to be nearby tried to break up the crowd. However, as they started to separate combatants, smaller pockets of fights formed. One man threw officer Michael Losurdo to the ground. Despite that, Losurdo was able to arrest the man after suffering leg, ear and head injuries, according to police.

Two other men then tried unsuccessfully to pull the man away from Losurdo and ran off, but both were captured.

Ferrante, in a message on Twitter, said four people were arrested for aggravated assault.

Another officer suffered a back injury when another man jumped him from behind.

In a tweet Ferrante said one of the officers, a sergeant, is off the job because of his injuries. "Bars or restaurants that can't control crowds will not be tolerated."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ