A shocking scene unfolded recently in New York City, when a dangerous driver rammed their way through a parked police cruiser and other stationary vehicles before speeding away. During the commotion, several police officers attempted to stop the vehicle, with one officer smashing the suspect’s window with their baton, and another narrowly escaping getting crushed in the process.
The brief video opens on a sunny sidewalk in New York City, and you can see a parked police cruiser in the center of the frame, with the iconic NYPD iconography emblazoned across its doors. Several police officers can be seen nervously scrambling around on the pavement, and there’s a consistent sound of crunching metal as if a car out of view is crashing its way through the parked cars. One of the officers yells something difficult to discern, though it sounds like, “Watch out for the f***ing car!”
All of a sudden, a silver vehicle comes into view, as it rams its way between the police cruiser and a parked black car, narrowly missing an officer who is stood nearby. The suspect’s bumper even breaks off due to the force of the collision. For a moment, the suspect’s vehicle gets wedged in between the police cruiser and a parked car. This is when several officers approach in a bid to stop the perpetrator, with one officer going for the door handle, and another attempting to smash the suspect’s back window with his police baton.
The suspect doesn’t give up, though, and reverses back, freeing themselves of the blockage, which gives them a brief opportunity to escape. Unfortunately, the suspect drives away, with the police officers looking on in frustration. Several moments later, a police vehicle drives after the suspect to pursue them.
At the time of writing, however, the New York Police Department is yet to issue an official statement on the incident, so it’s unclear whether the suspect was apprehended or not.
Social media is abuzz with reactions to the clip, with many championing the brave actions of the NYPD officers who attempted to stop the perpetrator. One Redditor wrote, “I give props to NYPD for their restraint. That was a clear danger to the officers and the public in general. Only one officer had his gun drawn, and hopefully the perp lives, is captured, and gets prosecuted.” A second comment simply read, “Dude’s gonna kill someone.”
A third commenter weighed in with, “A high speed chase in NYC seems like a nightmare” with another replying to this, adding, “It is. The NYPD has a standing policy not to pursue in a high speed chase. That’s how you end up with the crazy drivers in NYC. Because they know if they speed away, NYPD will disengage pretty much every time. I pretty much agree with their policy; all it takes is one guy hoping a curb through certain parts of midtown and you’ll have a literal massacre. But then it just allows for more situations like the one in the video. I honestly don’t see a way we can solve this issue.”
