New York: NYPD Mounted Unit cop lassoes mugger fleeing Midtown subway station

NEW YORK -- An NYPD Mounted Unit cop and his trusty steed Brooklyn corralled in a mugger seen fleeing a Midtown subway station, officials said Wednesday.

Police Officer Andrew Youssef was patrolling with Brooklyn on Sixth Ave. near W. 47th St. about 8 p.m. Monday when a passerby told them that a fight had broken out at a nearby Rockefeller Center subway station.

When he went to investigate, the 10-year NYPD veteran saw a suspicious 23-year-old man exit the train station, cops said.

NYPD officers Stagliano and Youssef were mounted on police
mounts "Pugsley" and "Brooklyn" when they caught a suspect
 for robbery on June 21, 2016. (NYP/via Twitter)

Seconds later, a 23-year-old woman ran out of the station with a bruised face, claiming that someone had just punched her and stolen her purse.

Realizing that the mugger was the man who had just fled the station, Officer Youssef radioed for backup and trotted off after the crook, cops said.

Brooklyn’s Belmont Racetrack-worthy gait quickly made up the difference between the fleeing thief and Youssef, officials said.

The horse and officer managed to stop the thief and bring him back to the train station where the victim identified him as her attacker, cops said.

“He saddled on over and arrested him,” a police source said. “Mounted cops aren’t allowed to keep their horses unattended.”

Fellow Mounted Unit Officer David Stagliano and his horse Pugsley assisted in the grab, officials said.

The thief, identified by police as Michael Reddish of Brooklyn, was charged with robbery, police said. His arraignment was pending Wednesday morning.

The woman was taken to Mount Sinai West Hospital for observation, cops said.

NYPD Special Operations Chief Harry Wedin congratulated the two cops in a tweet.

“Great job POs Stagliano & Youssef while mounted on ‘Pugsley’ & ‘Brooklyn’ apprehending a perp for robbery,” he wrote.

(NY Daily News - June 22, 2016)