NYPD cops sit in patrol car as security guard wrestles with shoplifter
Bronx NY June 12 2019 NYPD cops were caught on video doing nothing as a Bronx security guard chased down and tussled with a suspected thief — and police brass want to know why, the Daily News has learned.
Officers stayed inside their department SUV as Marshalls security grappled with a shoplifter in front of the store on East Ave. in Parkchester at 4:30 p.m. on May 28, sources said.
In the nearly minute and a half long clip acquired by The News, the loss prevention guard can be seen running after the suspect and slamming the man against a car while the NYPD patrol car is parked across the narrow street.
The alleged thief, 24-year-old Vidal Lopez, manages to squirm out of his T-shirt, break free from the guard and run off — right past the cruiser.
At no time do the officers get out of their vehicle. When another police car approaches, the SUV rolls over to meet it, the video shows.
Lopez was eventually caught, three hours later, during a fight about a half mile away, cops said. He is charged with petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property, authorities said.
He allegedly snatched six items, including a pair of shoes, valued at $133.
An NYPD spokeswoman said that the apparent inaction “is under internal review.”
This is the second video to surface in a week showing police ignoring a crime in progress.
The first shows cops doing nothing as two men brawled on Dyckman St. near Nagle Ave. in Inwood about 5 a.m. on Saturday. Three police officers and a supervisor walked toward the violence, but appeared reluctant to intervene as more people got involved and the fistfight raged on, the video shows.
Four men were taken into custody in that case, cops said.
New York Times
