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After Escaping From Police Custody, Prisoner Hit Up Sweet South Street Seaport Bars
By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 2, 2015
Modified Apr 11, 2018
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By
Jen Chung
Published Sep 2, 2015
Modified Apr 11, 2018
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Yesterday morning, the NYPD finally re-captured the fourth prisoner to escape police custody in the past three months. It turns that after slipping out of her handcuffs, Tiffany Neumann headed straight for the South Street Seaport bars, as one does. She also alerted the media, saying, "Hi, my name is Tiffany Neumann and I've been brutally beaten by the cops and I really need someone to help me... I broke out of the handcuffs when I was out of the hospital after they almost killed me and they just tried it again.”
The 23-year-old had been arrested on Saturday for allegedly not paying a bill at the Hi Life Bar and Grill and then shoplifting at the Purdy Girl clothing store on the Upper West Side. Neumann claimed she was pregnant and injured, so she was taken to New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan—a few blocks from 1 Police Plaza. After being examined, Neumann got out of her handcuffs and slipped away while the rookie cop watching her went to the bathroom.
The Post reports, "Video footage inside the hospital shows her asking a nurse how to leave before she headed northbound out of the hospital, police sources said. Once outside, she ditched her hospital gown - putting on a white dress with a yellow bra, blue hospital pants and black slippers before catching the subway at Fulton Street. A canine unit later tracked her scent from her hospital outfit to the 4-line stop, where they found the black slippers."
Then she went drinking: According to WCBS 2, "Neumann spent the next few hours drinking downtown - hitting up the Fresh Salt Bar at 146 Beekman Street, where she met a group of guys. She barhopped over to the Fish Market Bar on South Street, throwing back booze with the strangers until midnight. At the bar, Neumann also snagged a woman’s iPhone 6 that was in a cellphone holder with credit card slots."
Neumann insisted, "I didn’t steal it. She left it in the bar for me and I used it. But that appears to be untrue! The woman reported the card stolen, and Neumann was seen on surveillance footage at a newsstand, buying candy and cigarettes.
She also used the credit card to pay for a taxi, but the card was declined when Neumann was shopping at Forever 21. The police tracked her to her aunt's apartment on West 109th Street, and charged her with escape, grand larceny, and criminal possession of stolen property.
Neumann spoke freely while being escorted from the 1st Precinct, telling the press, "I bought cigarettes and booze, and I'm pregnant." But when reporters asked why she was drinking if she was pregnant, she said, "Yeah, I had like a beer... [I'm drinking] Because I'm so beat up, he's pushing my stomach as we speak, so I need help, can anybody please help me? I need a lawyer, thank you."
Her aunt, Bertha Carbajal, told the Daily News, "She's schizophrenic. She's just crazy. She's doing things that's irrational." But Carbajal also blamed the NYPD: "All they care (about) is saving face. They're embarrassed they let her escape. The right place for her is a mental hospital."
The police officer who was watching her has been suspended and was publicly chastised by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who said, "I will not tolerate as police commissioner these continued lapses in what should be basic policing."
Tagged
escaped prisoner
nypd
prison break
tiffany neumann
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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