The hero cop who was hacked in the face after tackling a meat cleaver-wielding lunatic was released from a Manhattan hospital Friday afternoon with a 6-inch wound stretching from his left temple to his chin.

More than a hundred NYPD officers gathered at Bellevue Hospital clapped and cheered for Detective Brian O’Donnell, who was off duty at the time of the chaotic encounter in Midtown Thursday. A somber-looking O’Donnell waved and thanked supporters as he was pushed out of the hospital in a wheelchair with his family by his side. Career criminal Akram Joudeh, 32, sliced O’Donnell in the head with the cleaver after O’Donnell tackled him as cops were chasing Joudeh at the start of the evening rush hour.(nypost.com)…[+]