EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- An NYPD officer has been suspended after a shoplifting suspect escaped custody in East Harlem Saturday.
Xavier Rivers, 21, was rearrested at the Taft Houses, where he lives, Monday afternoon, according to the New York City Police Department.
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Charges against Rivers was pending.
Rivers escaped from a 14-year officer, assigned to the 23rd Precinct. He was suspended, but the officer's partner was not disciplined.
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Rivers was detained after a Duane Reade manager called police, and identified him as a known shoplifter. The officers handcuffed him and placed him in a police cruiser. But Rivers allegedly opened the cruiser door and ran away, outrunning the two officers.
He was the first person to escape from the NYPD this year.