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Port Authority: Newark Airport Employee Punches Customs Officer In Face

A private contractor at Newark Airport punched a U.S. Customs officer in the face, sending him to the hospital, after being asked for ID, Port Authority police said Tuesday.

Thomas Hodge Jr.

Thomas Hodge Jr.

Photo Credit: FACEBOOK photo

The officer stopped 22-year-old Thomas Hodge Jr. of Irvington as he tried to exit a jetway at a Terminal C airport gate Saturday night and asked for Hodge's identification, the authority's Joseph Pentangelo said.

Hodge, in turn, "cursed the officer, assumed a fighting stance and struck him with his fist, cutting the officer's cheek," he said.

Area officers jumped Hodge and held him, Pentangelo said.

The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he received at least eight stitches to close the wound, he said.

Hodge was charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest and obstruction and released pending a hearing.

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