Four people are wanted after they impersonated New York Police Department officers in order to rob a deli, the NYPD said.
At around 8:15 a.m. Sunday, the suspects entered Tajuken Deli Grocery wearing caps and jackets with the NYPD letters on them. The suspects are accused of using zip ties to restrain three other men inside the establishment, ages 40, 48 and 68, while they robbed the place, NYPD sources told New York’s WPIX.
“I go to turn off the light right here, I put the hands up, they say NYPD don’t move, and they throw me here on the floor, they push me right here, they throw me on the floor and they drag me over there and tie me up,” one of the victims, providing only his first name Richard, told WABC-TV.
The group, described as men with dark complexions wearing dark clothing, fled in a dark van in an unknown direction with a bag of stolen property. The United Bodegas of America, representing the owners and workers of the New York City delis and corner stores otherwise known as bodegas, says lottery tickets and cash were taken.
“It’s extremely concerning because police officers are supposed to wear that type of gear, not robbers. Our detectives are on this case as well as our NYPD Internal Affairs team because they had the NYPD apparel on,” NYPD Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry told WCBS-TV.
UBA has offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to arrests in the robbery.
The group also called on New York Gov. Hochul, a Democrat, to “fulfill her promise to provide the necessary funds for the installation of panic buttons in response to the wave of violence our grocery store owners experience daily.”
UBA spokesman Fernando Mateo told WNBC, “If we had panic buttons, these fake cops would be behind bars today.”
