Helpful NY janitor holds cop's gun during arrest

Source: Star Bulletin

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York janitor found himself holding a policeman's gun when the officer needed a free hand to handcuff a suspect.

The handoff happened at the end of a wild chase through Manhattan on Friday.

Police spent an hour trying to collar a motorist who struck a taxi and a jogger, then fled on foot after hitting a van.

Police say the suspect slipped into a basement and tried to disguise himself as a janitor when the real maintenance man spotted him and went for help.

The officer who responded was trying to cuff the suspect with his gun drawn when the weapon wound up in hands of janitor Placido Contreras.


Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/HIHON/229cea0feec5482f81543bdaad3ec66c/Article_2009-05-23-US-Gun-Handoff/id-pb387004cbe764e5e8ff4818df0f5aaaa

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05232009/news/regionalnews/cop_makes_shot_gun_pass_170629.htm

Struggling to subdue a crazed suspect, an NYPD cop broke a cardinal rule of law enforcement and handed his gun to a Manhattan janitor, telling his stunned new deputy, "I need some help here," The Post has learned.

Even though his idea of backup usually involves clogged drains, Placido Contreras, 51, said he took hold of the weapon and pointed it at the floor after the cop told him, "Keep your eyes on him and shoot him if you have to."

It was unclear why the officer didn't simply wait for police backup.

Surveillance video from the Midtown building clearly shows the cop handing Contreras his weapon.

"I was shocked," the janitor later said. "Because that's the first time I held a real gun."

The NYPD later acknowledged the unorthodox handoff. Police said the officer needed a free hand to finish cuffing Jeffrey McNair, 42, who yesterday morning led cops on a 20-block car chase in which he ran over one pedestrian twice.

The officer, whom police refused to identify, had switched the weapon to his weaker hand and couldn't get it back into the holster while he got the cuffs on McNair.

<snip>

The arrest ended a wild, hourlong effort to stop McNair, who has 43 prior arrests for burglary, gun and drug charges.

...more worth the read at the link supplied...

and giving breaks to people on first, second or even third offenses. How is it that so many first time drug offenders and such end up with harsh sentences, yet you hear about people with 43 arrests roaming the streets? Baffling.

that it's so interesting because you don't see this in real life..only in reel life and the "building superintendent" agrees!

"It's like a movie script. I've never seen something as bizarre as this," said Joseph Espaillat, the building superintendent at 414 E. 52nd."

"Keep your eyes on him and shoot him if you have to." LOL!

There's a double-entendre in there somewhere, but we'll leave that for a later episode. I like Willie... there's probably a double-entendre somewhere in that too... :D