Officer suspended after man who allegedly tried to steal boat on naked joyride escapes hospital

Thursday, July 24, 2025
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The officer who was supposed to be watching an alleged boat thief at the time of his escape from a hospital while undergoing a psychiatric evaluation has been suspended without pay after sources say he fell asleep on the job.

Sources told Eyewitness News that 36-year-old Stephen Blasetti slipped out of his handcuffs Wednesday morning at New York Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights, while the police officer watching him fell asleep.

Blasetti was arrested over the weekend after being accused of going on a naked joyride on a stolen boat in the Hudson River.

Blasetti was charged with grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and reckless endangerment in connection to the July 19 incident when he took the stolen boat in the Hudson River.

Security camera captured Blasetti putting on a doctor's jacket before he slipped out of the hospital.



The officer in charge of watching Blasetti at the time of his escape was suspended without pay.

The search for Blasetti is ongoing.


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