It appears that a New York police officer tasked with guarding Stephen Blasetti, the accused naked boat thief, was suspended without pay after allegedly falling asleep, enabling the suspect to slip away from a hospital during his psychiatric evaluation, as reported by ABC7NY.
Details emerged that Blasetti, 36, managed to remove his handcuffs last Wednesday morning at New York Presbyterian Hospital in what can only be characterized as a serious lapse of protocol by the officer on duty, sources suggest the officer might have been asleep during the escape, another layer of this unconventional incident which unfolded over the past weekend when Blasetti was accused of piloting a stolen boat down the Hudson River in his birthday suit.
After stumbling into a doctor's jacket, the suspect made his exit from the hospital, precipitating an ongoing manhunt, as reported by ABC7NY.
According to the New York Post, the escapade began when Blasetti was arrested for grand larceny after his naked escapades on the water where he got into a dinghy sailboat at the marina and when pursued, jumped ship to a larger catamaran with the suspect believed to have been high on methamphetamines during the maritime misadventure, according to law enforcement sources.
"The incident is under review," an NYPD spokesperson said regarding the officer's suspension, with no additional details provided at the moment, Blasetti's whereabouts continue to puzzle the authorities who are actively searching for the minimally-clad marauder, this statement obtained by the New York Post.
