NEW YORK, NY. (WPIX) - A police officer handed off his service revolver to a janitor during an arrest Friday on Manhattan's East Side. Police say the officer needed a free hand to handcuff a suspect after a wild car chase.
Cops spent an hour trying to track down a hit-and-run driver who allegedly struck a taxi, then a jogger and a van before fleeing on foot. Police say that's when the suspect slipped into the basement of the building at 414 E. 52nd St., and tried to disguise himself using a janitor's jumpsuit belonging to 51-year-old Placido Conteras; he spotted him, and called police.
The responding officer was trying to cuff the suspect with his gun drawn, and passed his weapon off to Conteras, who said he held the gun just for a minute.
The NYPD has applauded the officer for "adapting."
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-nycjanitor-cop,0,2859376.story