Posted on September 11, 2020 at 12:43 pm by Carol Tannenhauser

By Carol Tannenhauser

Here is a firsthand account by Captain Neil Zuber, commander of the 20th Precinct, of the capture of the man who allegedly smashed the windows of the ABC Eyewitness News studio, on Columbus Avenue and 66th Street, by throwing rocks at them on Wednesday afternoon. By Thursday afternoon, the man was in custody. The commander portrayed the arrest as “a lot less dramatic than our e-bike robberies.”

After the Criminal Mischief at ABC Studios was reported, we began our usual procedures. The sector officers began canvassing for video surveillance that would catch the incident, and referred the case to the Detective Squad. The Neighborhood Coordination Officers began a ‘Companion Case’ and performed an extended video canvass. This resulted in the excellent images we used for the Wanted Flyer, and the Detectives investigation quickly led to a positive identification of the individual.

Great job by our very own eagle eyed Neighborhood Coordination Officers Etter and Solis! While on patrol today in the #2️⃣0️⃣Pct, they recognized this perpetrator from his Wanted Flyer and arrested him without incident before he could strike again. #ItsWhatWeDo pic.twitter.com/A285qW0WnB

— NYPD 20th Precinct (@NYPD20Pct) September 10, 2020

Today, when Officers Etter and Solis came to work, they received an update on the case and were briefed on the identification. When they went on patrol it was just a matter of good, old-fashioned police work. They recognized the individual from the flyer, stopped him to verify his identity, and arrested him without incident.

It turns out that (on Thursday) Detectives in the 10th Pct also identified him for a similar case involving the media. So, Officers Etter and Solis actually closed a pattern.

We don’t know any motive at this time. He has several recent arrests for Criminal Mischief downtown that coincide with the recent unrest. Right after we arrested him, we also learned that a separate investigation into an attack on on-air newscasters had led to a positive ID on him as well, thanks in part to our wanted flyer.

He still hasn’t been arraigned, so I don’t think we can share his name yet. Ordinarily, if we had published his wanted flyer with the name on it, it wouldn’t have been an issue, but the guys caught him too quickly!

We always tout our improvements in technology, and they certainly help, but none of it will make a difference without alert and experienced officers doing the hands-on, day-to-day work. It’s what we do.