More than 200 NYPD police officers are in Washington, D.C. to assist Capitol Police with policing protests that are expected in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit. But in a bizarre move, two top NYPD officials made a pit stop in a Ross Dress for Less parking lot to arrest someone in an unrelated incident on Tuesday.
It’s not uncommon for the NYPD to assist in operations outside New York City, according to news reports and former NYPD Lt. John Macari, host of the “New York’s Finest: Retired & Unfiltered podcast.” The department deployed officers to Louisiana and Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Katrina and Maria.
But Macari said it’s uncommon for officers to make an arrest that’s unrelated to the event they’ve been deployed to police.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard said two high-ranking NYPD officials were on their way to the U.S. Capitol when they noticed two suspects fleeing D.C. police and jumped out to help.
“This morning, while headed to DC to assist the DC Capitol Police with events this week, my team and I joined DC law enforcement in a foot pursuit and helped apprehend this fleeing suspect wanted for stealing a car,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said in a post on X Tuesday.
“Your NYPD is always on duty and always working to make New Yorkers, and in this case, citizens of Washington DC safe. Different area code, different state, same result — another criminal under arrest. #WeOutsideToo DC Edition,” he wrote.
A Capitol Police spokesperson said the department requested the NYPD’s assistance because it expects “a large number of demonstrators.”
“We need trained and equipped teams to assist us and the NYPD has assisted us in the past,” the statement read.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Capitol Police wrote in a statement that they could not share how many NYPD officers they requested to help police protests for “security reasons.” When asked about who paid for the NYPD’s time, transportation, food and lodging, the spokesperson said the two agencies had “a mutual aid agreement” in which partner agencies like the NYPD are reimbursed.
The NYPD did not respond to questions about how many officers the department deployed to D.C. and who paid for the deployment. A spokesperson for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement that Daughtry and Chell witnessed the incident and assisted. The department did not request their assistance, the statement said.
“We literally just got into the DC Metro area when we just reacted to the situation without a second thought,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said in a post on X on Tuesday.
A video posted on X Tuesday afternoon shows more than 200 NYPD officers being “sworn in as United States Capitol Police Special Officers.”
“No matter the task, no matter the assignment, no matter how far from home, your NYPD will answer the call and ensure the public is safe and that democracy is protected,” Daughtry wrote in the post.