Two NYPD officers have been suspended without pay after a handcuffed prisoner escaped their custody Thursday night and was recaptured early Friday morning in Sunset Park.
Officials say around 7:40 p.m. Thursday, 20-year-old Barry Tune was handcuffed and put into the back of a police car on a petit larceny charge. He is accused of stealing jeans from a Gap store. At the time of his arrest, the suspect told police his name was Magsayo Cruz.
Police say the suspect kicked open the door of the police car and took off into a subway station in the Tribeca section of Manhattan, setting off a massive manhunt.
Adam Shumsky was at home when he saw police lights flashing around 1:30 a.m. Friday. He says he heard a commotion coming from a group home in Sunset Park to which police say Tune had fled.
The incident marks the sixth person to escape NYPD custody since June. Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Friday commented on the situation by calling it a neglect of duty and "an embarrassment for the NYPD."
The disciplined officers will have their guns and badges taken away for 30 days, and will have to be transferred and retrained.
There is no word yet on whether Tune will face additional charges.