SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- A Schenectady Police Officer is in the ICU after police said he was assaulted by a suspect.
"Officer Weekes is lucky to be alive. If the individual had chosen to, he could've easily killed him," said Lt. Mark McCracken, Schenectady Public Information Officer.
Officer Mark Weekes was brutally beaten while patrolling the streets early Saturday morning.
"It hurts, it angers me. These kids are my cops so I love them and I don't want to see anything bad happen to them," said McCracken.
Police said Weekes was attempting to arrest James Hilton, 32. They said he was dancing drunk in the middle of Broadway with a traffic cone and was directed twice to move to the sidewalk when Hilton got physical.
"Officer Weekes was tossed onto the ground, striking his head on the sidewalk. The individual mounted him and struck him several times with closed fists rendering Officer Weekes unconscious," said McCracken.
A K9 later led officers to Hilton who was hiding near a dumpster. He was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. McCracken said the incident was the second within a 12 hour period where Schenectady officers were faced with a potentially fatal situation.
"A traffic stop on Third and Congress an individual pulled a handgun out," said McCracken.
The lieutenant said there's been an increase in violence in the city recently and the department is working around the clock to combat it.
"We are aware of it, we're putting additional manpower out there trying to address it as it occurs," said McCracken.
Hilton was arraigned Saturday and sent to the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department Jail. He’s due back in court on Monday, August 3.