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Prince Harry isn’t letting the New York Police Department off the hook following his May 2023 paparazzi car chase that endangered his life and those of his wife Meghan Markle and her mom Doria Ragland. The couple endured a car chase through Manhattan last year while returning from the Ziegfeld Ballroom, where Meghan received the Ms. Foundation for Women of Vision Award. In their statement, Harry and Meghan claimed “a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi” engaged them in a near-catastrophic car chase after leaving the ceremony on May 16.
A member of their security team even described the incident as chaotic, also admitting to CNN that it could have been fatal. The reports prompted authorities to condemn the reckless act, promising further to tighten their security in subsequent visits to New York. However, that pledge has done little to quelch Harry’s thirst for justice. Prince Harry reportedly pressured the NYPD to speed up the investigation into the car chase and make the necessary arrests the day after the incident, threatening to file an official complaint.
Prince Harry Suspects Coverup in Near-Catastrophic Car Chase in New York
Despite his demands, the New York authorities are yet to make any arrests per Daily Mail. However, the NYPD’s chief intelligence officer John Hart sent out letters to police in London at the time. The first, issued in September 2023, claimed the authorities had insufficient evidence to make arrests in connection to Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s car chase.
However, they sang a different tune three months later, admitting in the second letter that they had enough evidence for an arrest. Expectedly, the Duke of Sussex deems their actions suspicious as he senses a possible cover-up. Harry’s security company, TorchStone sent an email to the New York Police Department stating that their slow-paced investigation left the prince feeling upset and “intentionally misled.” The note read,
“The Duke feels intentionally misled and is suspicious of a cover-up”
Harry Ready For More Direct Approach in Car Chase Investigation
Recent reports suggest Prince Harry was now determined to take matters into his own hands, reaching out to New York’s governor Gavin Newsom himself. The prince reportedly requested contact with the New York prosecutors to enable him to escalate the matter if necessary. While Harry and his security team described the high-speed car chase as scary and near catastrophic, several quarters question their account, citing the usual traffic on the streets of Manhattan. A taxi driver, Sukhcharn, who transported the Sussexes during part of the journey has also shared his account, claiming he never felt “in danger” throughout the journey. Speaking to the Washington Post, he divulged,
“They kept following us and were coming next to the car. They took pictures as we stopped and were filming us. I don’t think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared, but it’s New York — it’s safe.”
Notwithstanding, New York Mayor Eric Adams has condemned the relentless pursuit by the photographers, noting how horrific it would have been for Prince Harry to find himself in the same situation that claimed his mom Princess Diana’s life nearly thirty years ago. Yet, the likelihood that the said chase had lasted two hours, at high speed as claimed is something he considers “hard to believe” especially in such a bustling part of the city as Manhattan.
