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Cop Who Lost Shoplifting Suspect Suspended
By
Raphael Pope-Sussman
Published Feb 15, 2017
Modified Feb 15, 2017
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By
Raphael Pope-Sussman
Published Feb 15, 2017
Modified Feb 15, 2017
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A cop who reportedly let a shoplifting suspect in East Harlem escape in handcuffs Saturday has been suspended, according to the New York Post.
The suspended officer, Henry Vidal, was one of several cops who apprehended the suspect, identified as Xavier Rivers, 21, on 102nd Street just after noon Saturday. Rivers, who was accused of ripping off a nearby Duane Reade, was placed in handcuffs. But as the officers attempted to place him in the back seat of their squad car, he slipped out of their grasp and made a run for it.
Rivers, who the NY Post said lives at the Taft Houses, was found Monday and re-arrested. According to the Post, the other officers have not yet been identified. The NYPD did not immediately respond to our request for further information on Vidal's suspension.
A suspect escaping from NYPD custody is a not infrequent occurrence. On New Year's Day, an 18-year-old from North Carolina arrested on a DWI climbed out of the back of a squad car into the driver's seat and made off with it, driving from Manhattan up to Yonkers.
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east harlem
escaped prisoner
robbery suspect
Raphael Pope-Sussman
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