NYPD Officer Suspended After Teen Escapes Custody In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An NYPD officer has been suspended after a teenage suspect escaped police custody in the subway in Brooklyn earlier this week.
The officer, who was assigned to Transit District 32 and has eight months on the job, was suspended on Wednesday for failure to safeguard a prisoner, the NYPD said.
The suspect, Rhamar Perkins, 16, was initially arrested Monday night for turnstile jumping at the Rockaway Avenue subway station in Brownsville, skipping out on paying the $2.75 Metropolitan Transportation Authority fare, police said.
While going through the booking process at Transit District 32, police said Perkins was uncuffed and ran for a door in the back of the precinct, escaping.
A search for the teen lasted five hours before police said he turned himself in early Tuesday morning.
Perkins faces the original charge of theft of service as well as an additional charge of escape, police said.
In 2015, six suspects slipped away from the NYPD in as many months.
In December, 20-year-old Barry Tune escaped from the back of a squad car in Tribeca. He was found within a few hours. The original charge of petty larceny was compounded with escape.
The arresting officers had their guns and badges removed and were taken off the streets for retraining.
Video from June of last year shows suspect Tareek Arnold, who was arrested on a warrant for alleged attempted murder, running away still handcuffed before ever making it into the back seat of the cop car.
Nearly a month later, Arnold was back in handcuffs with upgraded charges.
