The NYPD has released dramatic body camera footage showing the moment a police sergeant jumped into an SUV driven by a Taser-wielding carjacker, who then plowed into traffic in Midtown Manhattan, before fleeing on foot.
The wild scene played out in broad daylight on Wednesday afternoon, less than an hour before police say the same suspect carjacked an Uber driver at knifepoint.
Police have released the first image of the wanted man, but no arrests have been announced as of Friday afternoon.
Body camera video released by the NYPD on Thursday shows a sergeant and an officer trying to prevent the unidentified carjacker from driving off in a stolen Audi SUV at 57th Street and Broadway, which he had stolen after threatening its owner with a Taser at around 4.30pm.
Body camera footage that was released by the NYPD on Thursday shows a police officer trying in vain to stop a carjacker from driving away in a stolen Audi in Midtown Manhattan
The wild scene played out in broad daylight at West 57th Street and Broadway after the owner of the Audi was threatened with a Taser
Police caught up with the carjacker and jumped inside, but he managed to drive away
One officer warned the thief that he’s ‘going to kill someone’ because the Audi plowed into oncoming traffic
In the recording, the sergeant runs up to the vehicle, opens the front passenger door and climbs inside.
‘Put your hands up! Don’t f***ing move!’ the cop yells at the suspect in the driver’s seat as he attempts to handcuff him.
A scuffle ensues inside the vehicle, with the sergeant warning the carjacker that he’s ‘going to kill somebody.’
Despite the efforts of the sergeant and officer to stop the suspect, he manages to drive away.
In a 25-second clip recorded by a witness and posted to Instagram on Wednesday, the stolen SUV is seen driving in the wrong direction down a one-way street, pushes the car in front of it, causing it to crash into another car, before driving off into the distance.
The Audi rammed into a vehicle in front of it, as seen in witness video
In a short clip posted to Instagram Wednesday, a man could be seen chasing after his car as another man, armed with a knife, plows into a car in front of it in an effort to flee the scene
Pictured: Several of the other vehicles sustaining severe damage
Police chased the Audi on foot, before the SUV crashed into a pole and a flower bed a block away.
According to the NYPD, the thief got out of the car and ran to the nearby Columbus Circle subway station, where he was caught on surveillance video.
A police officer suffered an injury to his hip during the altercation with the carjacker.
Police said they believe that the carjacker took a southbound train down to Penn Station, and then made his way to 36th Street, where an Uber driver was siting in his black Infiniti and waiting for a passenger.
About 45 minutes after the first carjacking, the same suspect allegedly approached the ride-share worker with a boxcutter in hand.
Police say the carjacker ditched the Audi after crashing it into a police and went down into the Columbus Circle station, where he was caught on security camera
An Uber driver was sitting in his Infiniti on 36th Street less than an hour later when the same carjacker approached him with a boxcutter in his hand and forced him out of his car
‘He took it out and showed it to me, and I pushed him back and he pushed it up towards my neck area,’ the victim, who did not give his name, told ABC 7 NY.
The driver got out of his car, grabbing his phone on his way out.
‘And he was like “you cannot grab that phone, you cannot take your phone,”‘ the Uber driver recalled the thief telling him, ‘and I was like “no, I’m taking my phone. You take the car, whatever.”‘
The carjacker apparently later abandoned the stolen Infiniti, allowing its owner to reclaim his SUV, which was returned to him covered in scratches and fingerprint dust.
‘I feel safe doing it in Manhattan, always did. But now, it’s questionable,’ he said.
Photos of the first crime scene show police as they investigated and cordoned off the block with yellow caution tape, with several of the other vehicles sustaining severe damage.
One car could be seen with its bumper ripped off the front of it in the middle of the street. Another could be seen with front-end damage.
One car involved in the Midtown Manhattan carjacking could be seen with its bumper ripped off the front of it in the middle of the street
For the week of January 3 to January 9, the NYPD reported 265 incidents of grand theft auto compared to just 150 the same time last year, making for a 76 percent increase, according to police data.
Meanwhile, 943 grand theft auto incidents occurred in the last 28 consecutive days compared to just 615 in 2021, making for a 53 percent spike.
The brazen carjacking is the latest in a string of violent incidents and rising crime rates across New York that is exasperating police and residents.
Violent crimes are already up across the board in the Big Apple this year, with murders up by 33 percent when compared to the same period last year up until January 9, with eight murders alone in the last week.
Another could be seen with front-end damage
Pictured: damage sustained during a violent carjacking in Manhattan
Pictured: Police officers cordon off the crime scene after a carjacking in Midtown Manhattan
Overall crimes are also up by 30 percent through January 9, according to police.
The rate of robberies, rapes, and assaults have also increased.
The reasoning behind the increase can be attributed to a combination of lax bail reforms and lack of police.
Yet, the new Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, has vowed to take an even softer touch on criminals.
His office said they will not seek prison or jail time for suspects or offenders unless there is no other option.
He will also downgrade some felonies, like armed robbery, to petit larceny.
Since 2020, crime in New York has soared thanks to a combination of laxed bail reforms and lack of police
New York City is currently experiencing soaring crime rates and an increase in shooting incidents not seen since the mid-2000s
The announcement came in a memo from his office last week and spooked police unions, who said he was emboldening criminals.
He defended it afterward, saying he would not prosecute people for being homeless or addicted to drugs.
On Wednesday, when asked by a DailyMail.com to comment on a recent judgment that saw career criminal William Rolon, 43 – who boasts a 30-year rap sheet – get off with a misdemeanor for threatening a Duane Reade worker and stealing more than $2,000 worth of goods from the Manhattan store, Bragg refused to comment.
When approached, the Manhattan DA refused to discuss the slight ruling – a result of the prosecutor’s lenient policies – saying it was ‘an open matter.’
Source: Daily Mail
