New York authorities tried to arrest the ex-cop accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in her driveway two weeks before the killing on charges he violated a restraining order she had against him, the borough's police chief said Friday.
MIDLAND PARK -- New York authorities tried to arrest the ex-cop accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in her driveway two weeks before the killing on charges he violated a restraining order she had against him, the borough's police chief said Friday.
Fired New York City police officer Arthur J. Lomando, 44, of Centereach, N.Y, would not come out when Suffolk County officers went to his home two weeks ago, according to Midland Park Police Chief Michael Powderley.
The slain woman, Suzanne Bardzell, 48, obtained the order to protect herself from Lomando, who she dated for about three years, authorities previously said. Powderley told NJ Advance Media that Suffolk County police did not break into Lomando's home to serve warrants for contempt of court.
Reached Friday, the Suffolk County Police Department did not immediately have information on the case.
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Lomando refused to surrender when Midland Park police spoke to him via phone, the chief said. He was wanted for violating the restraining order approximately four times, but the nature of those cases was not clear.
Powderley noted the violations would not necessarily mean Lomando went to Bardzell's home or confronted her directly.
On Oct. 10, dozens of police officers through the county's Rapid Deployment Force launched a search in Midland Park for Lomando. An officer spotted his car in town earlier that morning and police checked on Bardzell, according to the chief.
Authorities were also concerned for Lomando based on a prior suicide attempt, Powderley said.
Lomando's lawyer phoned police and said his client would surrender but needed time to arrange bail, the chief added. The lawyer declined to reveal Lomando's location and officers repeatedly called trying to get his whereabouts.
"It got to the point where we were calling every 15 minutes," the chief said in an interview.
Police said Lomando surrendered that evening and was released on $10,000 bail.
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Nearly two weeks later, prosecutors allege Lomando stabbed Bardzell repeatedly with a machete-type knife as she pulled into the driveway at her Godwin Avenue home around 3:30 p.m. Thursday.
About an hour after the attack, police said Lomando threw himself in front of a subway in Manhattan. He remained hospitalized in critical condition at Harlem Hospital after losing both legs.
Bergen County authorities have not said what sparked the violent attack, but Prosecutor John L. Molinelli told reporters at a Thursday night news conference that there was a history of domestic violence involving the pair.
Bardzell, a special education teacher at Community High School in Teaneck, was divorced and had two sons, ages 16 and 18, Molinelli said. She met Lomando through an online dating website.
A representative for the school said grief counselors were available to students Friday.
New York State Court records show Lomando was fired from his job as an NYPD officer in 2004 after a decade on the force.
Lomando sued for reinstatement as an officer and to retire with an ordinary disability pension, citing mental health problems, according to court documents. N.Y. State Supreme Court Judge Doris Ling-Cohan sided with the NYPD and dismissed the case in 2005.
His career with the NYPD included a history of disciplinary cases, court records show.
The NYPD filed internal charges against Lomando in December 2000 for violations, including refusing a sergeant's order, insubordination, making false statements to a sergeant that he was on scheduled vacation for an overtime detail and taking a 15 minute unapproved leave from an assignment, according to Ling-Cohan's ruling.
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In November 2001, Lomando was put on "restricted duty" after complaints that he was suffering from depression, the ruling said. An internal department trial found Lomando guilty of three administrative charges and recommended his termination.
Though a police department psychologist found Lomando fit for duty, he later called in sick for psychological reasons, according to the court ruling. Officials had him examined again by the department.
"Shortly thereafter, [Lomando] was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and panic attacks," Ling-Cohan stated in the ruling. It was unclear if police psychologists made the diagnosis.
Lomando's lawsuit claimed the police force fired him ahead of his approved disability retirement.
The NYPD, however, argued in court papers that Lomando lied to a superior about working as a delivery driver while on probation and modified assignment, according to the ruling.
Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.