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PLAINFIELD —Police Officer Israel Valentin has been patrolling the streets of Plainfield for three decades — longer than any other rank-and-file officer on the force. He's badge No. 1, and he's seen his share of violence in the Queen City.

But nothing, authorities say, could have prepared him for what happened Sunday afternoon, when he met Andre Henderson, a 5-foot-10 inch, 250-pound convict wanted in two Union County towns.

What followed was a scene of horror and heroism, police and a witness said today. Henderson was screaming "I’m going to punch you in the mouth!" as walked toward the officer, according to one passing witness. He did just that, police said.

"Are you looking for me?" a clearly upset Henderson asked the officer as he stood next to his patrol car on the 200-block Watchung Avenue, according to police.

"No, I don’t know who you are," the 60-year-old officer replied.

That’s when Henderson let loose, punching Valentin in the head, knocking him to the ground and kicking him repeatedly, said Capt. Ed Santiago, a Plainfield police commander. It was a sight, he said, that left onlookers stunned and too terrified to intervene.

One woman tried to help, parking her car to shield Valentin from vehicles that couldn’t see him in the road, where the beating continued, police said.

Then came one man who’s been hailed as a good Samaritan and a hero by those in law enforcement. The North Plainfield resident, driving by with his wife, three children and a dog in the car, saw Henderson stomping on the police officer, authorities said.

"The good Samaritan’s wife said: ‘Stop, stop, you have to help the officer,’" Santiago said.

And the man, who hasn’t been identified publicly, did just that. He grabbed a baseball bat out of his trunk and approached the attacker, hitting him in the back four or five times, said Carlos Cancel, a 48-year-old Piscataway man who also witnessed the 4:30 p.m attack and who’s also being praised for his intervention.

"He didn’t even feel it. He looked up at the guy," Cancel said last night, referring to Henderson. "He didn’t flinch at all."

Instead, Santiago said, "the guy turned around and said ‘you want some of this?’"

The North Plainfield man, wanting to get the attacker away from the officer, took the challenge, drawing him away long enough so Cancel could reach Valentin, the witness said.

"The officer, at this time, was face down on the ground, bleeding and moaning in pain," said Cancel, who said he noticed a radio laying nearby. "I started screaming ‘officer down!’"

Meanwhile, the good Samaritan with the bat lured Henderson further away from Valentin and managed to avoid fighting the burly man, Cancel said. When Sgt. Wayne Williams pulled up to the scene, Henderson started running, but Williams was able to take him into custody without further incident, police said.

Valentin was left with broken ribs and serious wounds to his head and body. He’s been at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick since the incident, and he was listed in good condition last night.

That, authorities say, is all because of three strangers who worked to protect the officer.

"I’m telling you, this may have been significantly more serious injuries — if not death — because he wasn’t stopping," Santiago said.

Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said such "brutal, vicious, unwarranted" attacks will never be tolerated. It was entirely unprompted, he said.

"I have no reason to believe there was any history between them," said Romankow, who has been prosecutor for about a decade. "This is the most horrible attack I’ve seen on a police officer since I’ve been prosecutor."

Henderson, who served time in state prison for drug offenses, had been wanted on outstanding warrants out of Plainfield and Fanwood. He has now additionally been charged with four counts, including first-degree attempted murder, stemming from Sunday’s attack. On Monday, a special unit of the Union County Sheriff’s Office — called in as a precaution — moved Henderson from the Plainfield Police Department to the Union County jail in Elizabeth. He remains there on $1 million bail.

Staff writer Julia Terruso contributed to this report.