A 44-year-old Lyndhurst man accused of punching a police officer in the head during a chaotic domestic-violence call was back in handcuffs less than an hour after a judge released him from jail Sunday, authorities say. Brian Emil Pons was arrested again at about 5:20 p.m. after Lyndhurst police received a report that he had violated the very restraining order tied to his original arrest.
Officer Struck During Domestic Call
According to TAPinto, Lyndhurst Police Sgt. William Kapp, Officer Michael A. Carrino and Officer Thomas Golda responded to a call on October 31 and found Pons sleeping on his bedroom floor. Deputy Chief Haggerty told the outlet that Pons was highly intoxicated and drunk when officers arrived, prompting police to request that EMS transport him to the hospital as a precaution. Officers physically assisted Pons from the floor to his feet before handcuffing him, per the same account.
Haggerty said Pons became aggressive and physically combative once medics arrived, and punched Officer Golda on the top of the head. During the ensuing struggle, Officer Carrino sustained a cut above his left eye, and the two officers ultimately subdued Pons. He was charged with aggravated assault on a law-enforcement officer, simple assault and two counts of making terroristic threats, and was sent to Bergen County Jail.
Released, Then Rearrested Within the Hour
Released, Then Rearrested Within the Hour A Superior Court judge released Pons pending trial in Hackensack at about 4:30 p.m. on November 1, 2026. Less than an hour later, at 5:20 p.m. that same day, he was back in Lyndhurst police custody after a call reporting that he had violated a domestic-violence restraining order, the same report notes. That order had stemmed from the previous day's incident.
New Jersey law treats restraining-order violations as a serious matter. Under the state's domestic-violence statute, a purposeful or knowing violation of a provision of an order entered under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act is a fourth-degree crime when the conduct could also constitute a crime or disorderly persons offense; other covered violations are disorderly persons offenses, according to the New Jersey Legislature. The same statute allows a court authorizing pretrial release to bar a defendant from contacting the alleged victim, and requires prosecutors to provide the victim with a copy of that release order without delay.
A Lengthy Record Across New Jersey
Court records cited by the outlet describe a long trail of legal trouble for Pons predating this week's arrests. He had a DWI case in Hoboken in September 2003, was charged in Secaucus in June 2012 with resisting arrest by eluding without a license or registration while allegedly under the influence, and faced a leaving-the-scene and failure-to-report charge in Midland Park in December 2019. Lyndhurst police also arrested him for DUI in July 2026, according to New Jersey court records referenced in the same report. Separately, the seed reporting describes nearly five dozen parking, traffic and motor-vehicle summonses involving Pons across at least 30 municipalities in six New Jersey counties.
A Familiar Pattern in Lyndhurst
This is not the first time Lyndhurst police have dealt with a domestic-incident suspect turning combative toward officers. In March 2025, police arrested 58-year-old Ronald Prins after he allegedly confronted officers at his Lyndhurst residence following a domestic-violence incident in East Rutherford, according to The Observer Online. Police said Prins brandished a large pipe wrench and swung it threateningly toward officers; he was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, weapons offenses and disorderly conduct, and was released on his own recognizance to await a Bergen County Superior Court appearance.
