Man who attacked police officers with machetes in Times Square got 27 years

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Trevor Bickford was sentenced to 27 years in prison for ambushing three NYPD officers in a violent machete attack “in the name of jihad” in Times Square on New Year’s Eve 2022, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Bickford pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault on Jan. 11 for the attack that seriously injured three NYPD officers.

“Inspired by radical Islamic extremism, Trevor Bickford brutally attacked three NYPD officers who were simply doing their jobs by protecting the public during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Times Square,” said Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

According to court documents and proceedings, on December 31, 2022, Bickford traveled from his home in Maine to New York City to, in his words, “wage jihad and kill as many targets as possible,” which led him to a heavily populated area to target the area at one of the most populated times.

Bickford swung his machete knife at the officers’ heads while shouting “Allahu Akbar,” an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great” that was similarly proclaimed by other radical Islamic extremists at the time of the terrorist attacks.

Prosecutors said Bickford seriously injured all three officers and grabbed one of the officers’ weapons during the altercation. One of the victims managed to stop the attack by shooting Bickford in the shoulder.

The defendant later stated that his mission was to kill as many military-age men working for the U.S. government as possible and to wage jihad before becoming a martyr himself.

The attack was premeditated and fueled by Bickford’s embrace of radical Islamic ideology, including the teachings of an al-Qaeda mentor.

In addition to his prison sentence, Bickford was sentenced to life of supervised release.

“Bickford’s conviction and sentence demonstrate that cowardly terrorist attacks are met with law enforcement’s unwavering determination to protect New York City, our country and our core values ​​of freedom and democracy,” Williams said.