Queens drug suspect who allegedly stole police cruiser in custody

GLENDALE (WABC) -- A drug suspect who allegedly escaped police custody and stole a cruiser while handcuffed in Queens, dragging an officer in the process, is now in custody.

Bryan McMenamin was apprehended Tuesday afternoon in Manhattan.

The wild scene played out on the streets of Ridgewood, where police say McMenamin was arrested by two plainclothes narcotics officers who allegedly caught him selling drugs.

As they were transporting him, the officers apparently stopped at 59th Street and Cooper Place in Glendale and got out of the car for some reason, and that's when this dangerous suspect proved he is willing to go to wild and desperate extremes to elude capture.

McMenamin somehow jumped into the front seat, still in handcuffs, and drove away. One of the officers tried to stop the car, and McMenamin dragged him down the street.

Meanwhile, the officer's partner commandeered another vehicle in an effort to give chase.

Miguel Figueroa said his daughter was behind the wheel of a Hyundai Sonata when she looked up and saw the officer running toward her with his gun drawn, screaming for her to please give up her car.

"She didn't want to give up the car until he said I'm an officer," he said. "Then she got out, and he got into the car...It's like something you hear on TV. I've never heard of that before, they commandeer a car to chase someone, a perp."

Figueroa said his daughter initially thought she was being carjacked, as the officer had a gun in one hand an a police radio in the other. But when she saw his badge, she knew it was a real situation and hopped out.

The officer had the car for a couple of minutes, but soon returned. There was some damage to the car. The police vehicle was found abandoned in a post office parking lot at Myrtle Avenue and Decatur Street in Ridgewood.

Police are still trying to figure out how McMenamin, who was handcuffed in the back, got his hands to the front and took the vehicle.

Authorities say McMenamin is no stranger to the law and has a string of prior convictions, including for criminal possession of a weapon, arson, robbery and menacing.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).