Shocking Video: Cops Miss Gun After Arresting, Searching Alleged Fare Evader
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - There are questions for the NYPD after a suspect under arrest apparently was able to keep a loaded gun in the waistband of his pants.
Officers cuffed the man at a subway station. He was still armed when they brought him to a police precinct.
The video is disturbing, and some say hard to fathom. A suspect under arrest, handcuffed and secured by NYPD Transit Police.
But they missed a loaded .45 caliber pistol, which was still on the suspect inside the police station.
"They didn't see the gun, and I clearly see the gun," said subway rider Marisol Alvarado.
Police say it started at the 149th Street-Grand Concourse subway station Tuesday morning. That's when police say they arrested 37-year-old Billy Walters for fare evasion, trying to sneak into the subway station.
Full Video: Officers Miss Gun During Search Of Suspect
In video obtained by CBS2 News, you can see police patting down and searching Walters without finding a weapon.
Next, Walters is taken by police car to a local transit police station to be processed.
It's there, during processing, that cops make the disturbing discovery: The gun, still in Walters' pants.
Sources told CBS2's Scott Rapoport Walters had the gun on him the whole time, even as he was in the police car being transported.
So, how does something like this happen?
"Clearly, we would like to see the weapon recovered a little earlier, but to me, no one got hurt. We have a violent criminal off the streets," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea.
Shea told Rapoport the NYPD makes thousands of gun arrests, and though they strive to be perfect, sometimes they are not.
"I'm not troubled at all by it. The officers are OK. We got a gun off the street," Shea said.
The NYPD says the incident is under review, and if there are any issues with the case, they'll be addressed through training.
Just a day before all this happened, police say Walters was arrested for previously threatening a woman outside a Bronx hospital with a gun. He was released without bail in that case.
In this incident, he's been charged with possession of a loaded gun, marijuana possession and fare evasion.
The NYPD told CBS2 thus far the officers involved in the case have not received any disciplinary action.