Cops 'Too Busy' to Investigate Bicycle Theft Caught on Tape
Tadree Coppedge, a make-up artist, loves living on Manhattan's Lower East Side.
But her love for the city was tested back on April 25th, when her beloved $400.00 Fuji bike was stolen one night, right off the tree it was locked to.
When Tadree came downstairs the next morning and saw her bike gone, she immediately went over to Tompkins Square Park, because she sees a lot of bikes being sold over there. When her search came up empty, she went over to the Ninth Precinct to file a report.
A detective there told her that someone would get in touch with her, so she went home, waiting to get a call from the police. While waiting, she told her neighbor, salon owner Mourad Boulamaali of "Today's Cut" , about the bike theft.
He immediately remembered a surveillance camera he had placed in his salon's window and pulled the tape to see if it had caught anything.
To his amazement his camera had caught the entire theft! Right there on the tape a young man, dressed all in black and wearing a large back-pack, walks repeatedly by Tadree's bike. The young man eyes it, comes back again, eyeballs it several times, always walking on, but on the 5th trip by, he grabs the bike, quickly breaking the chain and riding off on it.
When Tadree saw the video, she excitedly called the police, telling them about the new-found video showing the theft and thief in action. Again police told her that someone would definitely be in touch now that there was new information on the case.
But still Tadree waited and heard nothing from detectives. When she finally called them, she was told on the phone that her "case had been closed", or more to the point "her case had never been opened". Frustrated and disappointed, Tadree called Help Me Howard.
Now we told Tadree there was no way that we were going to be able to find her bike, but we felt that police should at least take a look at her complaint and the surveillance video. So we called them and forwarded a copy of the tape. They promised to get in touch with Tadree and within the hour two detectives had visited her apartment to get more information on the theft.
Comments: 9
One evening last year I parked my bike on the street around 7.30pm while I went to the theater (Circle in the Square). The bike was securely padlocked.
When I came out of the theater my bike had gone and where it had been was a pile of about 20
black plastic garbage bags. I noticed a man
loading up the bags and dumping them on the
street. He looked like the super of a parking
garage. I asked him what had happened to my bike.
"It's in the basement.....I was about to chop it
up. It was parked in a garbage disposal zone.
Your lock was really difficult to cut through by
the way. And you're lucky to get it back". While
he was gone, to my amazement, I watched his
colleague cut through another chain and throw that
bike on to his cart. They were stealing bikes.
The following day I called the local police
station and told them what had happened. "So lady
did you get your bike back?" the sergeant asked.
"Well yes", I said. "Well then what do you want
me to do about it?".
WOW.... On May 28th My Bike Was Stolen too (26" Men's Mongoose Status Dual Suspension Bike - Silver DPCI: 242-08-4916
ASIN: B000Y2VK5S
Catalog #: 10883342) At walgreens in Brooklyn NY On Church and E 21 st I went inside to buy something real quick end up talking to a friend lost track of time and at 21:45:33 A black man in his 20s about 5'10" 155lbs blue jeans jacket black bookbag n a black cap came in and took it out i know this cause i went to the camera and saw him take it and the police said they couldn't do anything and even if i was to see him on my bike i would get in trouble for trying to take whats mines again this is not fear that things can be stolen and never returned ever with video evidence
Howard,
Good job! Another way to help folks out is to show them how to avoid having their bike stolen in the first place. Yeah, it is a pain in the butt, but with tips like these at least you have a fighting chance!
http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/hal-grades-your-bike-locking-3-the-final-warning/
Lizzie Brown, its true, what do you want them to do?? haha
What low-lifes to go around stealing someone else's mode of transportation. A bicycle for Christ sake! I wish someone would try and steal what rightfully belongs to me, I'll beat the fool out of them!
My bike was stolen in broad daylight off 46th and Park back in April...it took them less than a minute to cut through the two locks I had put on it. I got surveillance of the guys doing it and brought it to the precinct (a few days after I'd filed the report)... when I called to follow up, I was similarly told that my case had been closed and had never really been "open" in the first place.
It's really great that you can go to the NYPD with pictures of actual thieves and they don't give a crap, isn't it??? The whole incident left a VERY bad taste in my mouth.
My bike was stolen in broad daylight off 46th and Park back in April...it took them less than a minute to cut through the two locks I had put on it. I got surveillance of the guys doing it and brought it to the precinct (a few days after I'd filed the report)... when I called to follow up, I was similarly told that my case had been closed and had never really been "open" in the first place.
It's really great that you can go to the NYPD with pictures of actual thieves and they don't give a crap, isn't it??? The whole incident left a VERY bad taste in my mouth.
tank you Mr boulamaali mourad for your help
good worked
I've heard it said the happiest days in a bicycle owner's life are the day when
he buys his beautiful dream bicycle. Then the saddest day in a bicycle owner's life is when the dream bicycle gets stolen. They say that a theft will not take time if he sees there's a bicycle alarm lock or something. I stumbled upon a website that has cheap options on lock alarms. What's nice is that its siren screams very loud. I saw them at www.etipinc.com. I hope this can help.