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Shocking video footage captured the moment a suspected shoplifter punched an NYPD cop in the face, knocking her to the ground before running from the store as crime in the city continue to spiral out of control.
The violent encounter, taped at a Duane Reade store on East 34th Street in Murray Hill at 11:30 am on Friday, left the cop bloodied and with a fractured bone to her face, police officials said.
The male suspect had been recognized by the store’s manager from a previous theft and told the cop to step inside the store to monitor him, according to a police report.
The footage captured the officer talking with the suspect before he attempted to push her away and leave the store. He then smacked her to the ground as she grabbed his arm and ran off.
The unidentified officer was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was treated for a laceration to her left ear and a fractured bone to the face. She is in stable condition.
Shocking video footage captured the moment a suspected male shoplifter hit a female officer at a Duane Reade store in Murray Hill
The suspect had knocked the officer to the ground before fleeing
The female officer confronted the suspect after the store’s manager had recognized him from a previous theft incident
The suspect was seen wandering the store on Friday morning prior to the confrontation
The known shoplifter was described as black male wearing a dark-colored hooded jacket, pants and shoes.
It remains unclear if anything was stolen from the store.
The female sergeant was working a paid security gig at the store, between Lexington and Third Avenues, after the drugstore chain began hiring cops in an effort to crack down on shoplifters.
The violent incident comes as larcenies have increased 4.9 percent since 2020.
Robberies have gone up from 12,151 in 2020 to 12,692, a 4.5 per cent increase, and rapes went up by 2 percent, from 1,361 to 1,388 this year.
Shocking video showed a black BMW driven by gang members suspected of planning a robbery at a high end restaurant mount the curb as it was blocked in by police vehicles
Officer Corey Titus fired three shots at the windshield of the oncoming vehicle
This incident comes after a string of reported robbery-related incidents involving the ‘Own Every Dollar’ gang.
The group had been responsible for at least 12 jewelry robberies in the last four months.
Recently released CCTV footage captured the moment NYPD officers had opened fire on the gang after they had been spotted by a security guard at Pergola restaurant on October 11.
The members fled the scene in a black BMW before being shot at by officers as they sped down the street.
The shots then stopped the vehicle and forced three of the members to continue the pursuit on foot.
They had initially gotten away before police had apprehended Wilson Mendez, 19, who was then taken into custody.
Mendez was taken to the hospital to be treated for cuts he had received on his face.
He has been charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon for a loaded firearm.
Wilson Mendez, 19, was taken into custody near Madison Square Park on October 11
The vicious gang are allegedly responsible for least 12 jewelry robberies across New York in the last four months (detailed above)
The Own Every Dollar gang has been described as ‘vicious’ by police officers.
The ring, who are linked to the notorious Trinitarios gang in the Bronx, netted in more than $4million in jewelry and watches in just one theft, as well 11 other heists, and are suspected to be involved in at least one homicide, according to police sources.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea blamed the ‘drastic reduction in incarceration levels’ for several high-profile incidents of gun violence throughout the five boroughs.
Shea was reacting to the incident outside Pergola leading to Wilson’s arrest.
Shea told WNYW-TV that the NYPD is part of a ‘task force’ that involves ‘multiple federal agencies’ as well as ‘all five district attorneys’ in an effort to arrest and prosecute the gang members.
‘There have been some arrests but the problem is still ongoing. This boils down to two things, really – nightclubs and guns,’ the commissioner said. ‘Targeting high-end jewelry is what is occurring.
‘There’s been a couple of arrests. You can absolutely expect more arrests as we get closer to hopefully bringing this to a conclusion.’
When asked the next day whether New York City is experiencing an increase in gang activity, Shea said: ‘The gangs have always been an issue here. We’ve talked about it for a number of years.
‘You have to look at the incarceration levels. It’s a hard topic to talk about but there’s been such a drastic reduction.
‘I think that’s part of what you’re seeing play out.
‘At the state level, we are down significantly. Many people get out of prison and turn their life around, but, unfortunately, we all realize that many do not.
‘You’re seeing those unintended consequences on the street at times.’
New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea (right) earlier this year slammed the new crime reform laws as a failed ‘soft-on-crime experiment’
Under former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s controversial reform laws passed last year, bail can no longer be imposed on misdemeanors and non-violent felonies, even as New York City continues to be gripped by a crime wave, with murder, assault, rape and robbery rates all on the rise.
Back in August, New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea begged Gov. Kathy Hochul, who took over for Cuomo after his resignation over sexual misconduct allegations, to undo her predecessor’s crime reform laws, calling the ‘soft-on-crime experiment’ a failure that has led to the city’s runaway crime.
‘This city is built on public safety,’ Shea told NY1. ‘We’re probably about two years into this soft-on-criminals experiment. … Show me a New Yorker that thinks this experiment has worked.
‘It’s been a disaster. By any definition, it’s been a disaster.’
Sergio Jimenez, 21, (left) was shot in the head and killed inside his BMW on Sunday night. He is pictured with family during a birthday party
Sergio Jimenez, 21, was parked in his white BMW with his girlfriend, 18, when masked men in a black BMW pulled up beside them and opened fire on
The masked men fired multiple times, shooting Jimenez in the back of the head and his girlfriend in her hand and back
A third man stepped out of the car to help open fire before his gun failed to reload
Violent crime have also been on the rise in New York City with the NYPD reporting 1,761 shooting victims so far this year, eight more than last year.
Felony assaults soared by more than 9 per cent, going up for 19,423 last year to 21,192. Murders also saw an increase of 1.4 per cent, with the NYPD reporting 443 incidents so far in 2021.
On Sunday, Bronx man Sergio Jiminez, 21, was killed inside his vehicle after three masked men had shot him multiple times.
His girlfriend 18-year-old girlfriend was also in the vehicle at the time and was shot in the back and in the hand.
Jiminez, a father of three, was pronounced dead the scene and his girlfriend was taken to BronxCare Health System for treatment where she was found in stable condition.
Jimenez’s father, also named Sergio, told the New York Daily News he suspected the killers were neighborhood rivals who had thrown a brick at the family’s home recently.
‘He knew he was being threatened,’ the father said. ‘And they knew where he lived. The threats were to such an extent that he wanted to change apartments.’
The New York Police Department said Jimenez has previous arrests records and was wanted for a 2020 misdemeanor assault. The wounded passenger has no criminal record.
Source: Daily Mail
