Cell Phone Mugger Caught, Despite Cops’ Best Efforts
A 15-year-old teen was apprehended and arrested Motzei Shabbos after he mugged a Jewish women and took her cellphone. This despite the unfortunate best efforts of two cops, who subjected the victim to repeated questioning in an apparent effort to make her doubt herself.
The incident occurred on Motzai Shabbos at around 8:15pm on Union Street near Albany Avenue, where the victim – a Jewish woman – was approached by the mugger, who snatched her iPhone right out of her hands and then fled.
The victim began chasing after the thief while screaming for help, and a number of people joined in the chase while calling Shomrim and 911.
When they reached Troy Avenue and Eastern Parkway, a number of Shomrim volunteers arrived and learned that the mugger had ‘vanished’ as the victim and the pursuers reached the corner, and that he very likely went into one of the buildings.
While waiting for the police, Shomrim attempted to use the ‘Find My iPhone’ feature to locate the perpetrator, but were interrupted. When police finally arrived, the officers began talking with the victim and ordered the small crowd to leave the scene – including a number of witnesses to the crime itself and those who assisted in the pursuit.
The officers then began filling out a police report, while not allowing the victim to speak with anyone at the scene – including not letting her retry logging in to her Find My iPhone application, nor were they interested in hearing a description of the mugger, or even taking a walk over to the building where they thought he fled into.
A number of additional plainclothed anti-crime police officers arrived and were much keener on speaking with everyone involved, and when they learned that the mugger likely entered one of the nearby buildings, they began searching the vicinity, looking inside trash cans and hidden areas.
During their search they spotted a suspect that matched the description of the mugger – a tall black male in his teens and wearing all black and distinctive white sneakers – and immediately took him into custody. “Am I being detained” he asked officers, which they answered in the affirmative.
A resident, whose home surveillance cameras captured footage of the suspect fleeing the scene, shared the footage with the anti crime officers, who determined that the video bore a similar enough resemblance to the person they had in custody and were confidant in making the arrest.
This was until the two officers, Officers Trim and Baird, who were busy filling out paperwork, decided that the victim had to identify the suspect. She was brought close enough to the police car and the suspect was taken out of the car and the victim immediately identified him, pulling her hand to her mouth and saying “Yes! That’s him!”
Officer Trim then asked her “are you sure?” to which she again said “yes!” Officer Trim then countered “you said you only saw the side of his face, how can you be sure?” to which she responded again “that is him!” Once again Officer Trim countered “is that the person who mugged you or does he look like the person who mugged you?” at this point the victim faltered and said “yes that looks like him and he is wearing the same cloths… black sweatshirt and black jeans…”
The officer then seized upon this and said, “but he is not wearing jeans, he is wearing training pants so it can’t be him.” But then one of the anti-crime officers walked over to the victim carrying an iPhone and asked her to look and see if it was hers. When she readily identified it, the anti-crime officer revealed that it had been found in one of the suspect’s pockets.
One of the bystanders grumbled “maybe the officers want to ask [the victim] again if she is sure,” and upon hearing that Officer Baird ran up to the person and – standing extremely close to him – began shouting in his face, while other officers had to pull him back.
“Those two officers showed extreme indifference, opting to act as clerks, and would have been satisfied with just filling out a report,” said on of the bystanders. “Thank G-d for those anti-crime officers whose relentless pursuit ultimately lead to the arrest of the suspect and the recovery of the phone.”
Dave G.
Wait, if police officers aren’t anti-crime.. what are they?
Yes
Glorified clerks afraid in some cases to do their jobs.
File A Complaint
Only way to get bad cops off the streets is to file an official complaint.
sam
thank you shomrim again and again.
Oh vei
Bad location. Scary
File a complaint
You know their names now file an official complaint against them. These a wholes don’t belong on the force. File a complaint.
Just goes to show you that it’s not right to trim your beard.
Leah
I am the victim. Those police were very helpful , they did a great job, they caught the guy who stole my phone, I got my phone back.
officers
these officers should be reported and off the street ASAP
machers
so y are we letting them get away with this???? Mr sperlin u sleeping? where are all the big machers?
Leaders
Not to worry, our fearless leaders will be staging a press conference/photo-op shortly.
They might even take a break from smiling and patting each other on the back to give Officers Trim and Bair an award for a job well done.
great reporting
ty
Contact CCRB
Probably these lazy cops were at the end of their shift and didn’t want to stick around for another 18 hours for booking. Regardless she should make a complaint with the CCRB.
File a complaint is right
they add up on the officers record and will reflect negatively on him for promotions etc. you MUST file complaints against him!
beyond sick!
if true as reported here – absolutely no excuse.
While I overall think very highly of NYPD – these two give the force a bad name.
You (the victim(s) and obviously JCC if they give half a damn) must report this accordingly.
Moishe Pipek
Could be he is Obama’s son.
little doggy
Look at that little doggy in the video chasing after the mugger, that dog looks more motivated to catch the perp than officers Trim & Baird, that dog would make a better cop than both of them…
to Moishe Pipek
I thought this comment was clever and funny the first time I saw it, for the umpteenth time though not so much anymore. Does this really need to be said every time there’s a crime where the criminal is black? We get the point already….
yes!!
it does need to be said!!! Obama is to blame for all the crime in the streets ! and scaring police too!
Joe Shmoe
Please note the dog chasing him too
animal rights. : )
Crown Street
Watched 2 black gentlemen steal a car from our block
and the police were just as UNHELPFUL they were in fact down right NASTY
These two black gentlemen have been stealing and vandalizing cars for the past several months and walk proudly down the block not afraid
If you want their pictures I even have their pictures
I even have their address.
But guess what the cops don’t care!!!!!
Gotta' keep those crime stats down, dontcha know....
Any reported crime that gets ignored does not count as crime, so then the precinct looks like there are fewer crimes, so then the precinct top brass gets rewarded with having supposedly
“lowered the crime rate” in the precinct.
But the truth is that they just ignored more crimes instead of making them part of the official record of reported crimes!
I blame Bloomberg for instituting this kind of incentive system, which apparently DeBlasio has continued at least to some extent. Such a system may work in the private corporate world, but not in lowering crime. Stats do not tell the whole story, as I explained above!