Prosecutors: Trevor Bickford, suspect in alleged NYE machete attack, wanted 'to kill people and carry out jihad'

A Maine man accused of attempted murder and assault after an attack on NYPD officers on New Year's Eve told investigators he came to New York “to kill people and carry out jihad,” specifically targeting cops, prosecutors said in court Wednesday.

Trevor Bickford, 19, from the coastal town of Wells, said that he specifically went after police officers because men in uniforms with weapons were to be targeted, prosecutors explained.

Prosecutors disclosed the statements made by Bickford during a Manhattan state court hearing in which he was ordered held without bail on a number of attempted murder and assault charges stemming from the New Year’s Eve machete attack on three officers at a security checkpoint near Times Square. 

"I wanted to kill an officer in uniform. I saw the officer and waited until he was alone. I said Allahu akbar," court papers quote Travis Bickford as saying.

Bickford, who is still hospitalized after being shot and wounded by one of the officers in the attack, attended the court proceeding by a special video link. He did not enter any formal plea during the proceeding and will not do so until the case is transferred to Supreme Court, said a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The three officers injured in the attack — rookie Paul Cozzolino, who suffered a skull fracture, Louis Iorio and Mark Hanna — were released from hospital on Sunday.

In arguing to Criminal Court Judge Marisol Martinez Alonso that Bickford should be held without bail, Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Lucy Nicholas said he told investigators he wanted to kill a uniformed cop.

“The defendant admitted that he purposely waited until he saw a moment when the officer [presumably Cozzolino] was isolated and not near any civilians when he could attack him,” Nicholas said in a statement read in court. “He said after he dropped the knife after attacking the first officer he wanted to grab the other officer's firearm to kill them but was unable to get the gun out of the holster.”

A criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday charged Bickford, who police said was a self-radicalized Muslim, with three counts of attempted murder in the first degree, one court of first-degree assault, two counts of attempted assault and assault in the second degree. Bickford faces a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted, Nicholas said.

Bickford is being represented by the Legal Aid Society. In a statement, the agency said, “We’ve just received initial discovery from the District Attorney’s office, and we’ll have more to say about this case after a thorough review and investigation. For now, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the privacy of our client’s family.”

Bickford originally wanted to travel internationally but decided to come New York to kill people and carry out jihad, Nicholas told the court. Bickford also said that all government officials were targets because they cannot be proper Muslims due to the United States support of Israel, noted Nicholas.

A spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said the case was to be submitted to a grand jury Wednesday.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.