NEW YORK — A woman accused of stealing a purse found herself in an unusual pursuit Wednesday morning when a mounted police officer and his horse tracked her down through Manhattan’s busy streets.
The chase started after a victim contacted police to report the theft late Wednesday morning. An unnamed officer on horseback immediately began pursuing the suspect in a dramatic scene recorded by both the officer’s body camera and a television news team that was coincidentally filming nearby for another assignment.
During the pursuit, the mounted officer shouted commands for the suspect to halt, but she continued fleeing while claiming she hadn’t stolen any purse. The unusual chase wound through sidewalks, underneath construction scaffolding, around parked vehicles, and across city streets until a bystander helped stop the woman, allowing the officer to make the arrest.
Police charged the woman with larceny and giving false information to authorities. Records show she previously served prison time for a murder conviction stemming from the fatal shooting of a taxi driver in April 2000, and she remains under lifetime parole supervision.
Officials reported no one sustained injuries during the incident.
