BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Neighbors out for a sunny stroll in Brooklyn Heights Sunday afternoon were startled to find themselves in the middle of a dramatic arrest of an alleged car thief.
Seconds after a white 2026 Hyundai SUV took a right turn from Henry Street onto Orange Street, several police cars boxed it in, bringing it to a stop. Police officers burst from their vehicles with their guns drawn, and passersby began to run. Within seconds, the officers pulled the driver out, pushed him to the ground and handcuffed him, before putting him in the back of one of the patrol cars and driving off.
According to a New York Police Department spokesperson, the incident started more than two hours earlier in a different Brooklyn neighborhood. Around 10:40 a.m., a 39-year-old man had parked his Hyundai in Prospect Park South, near Ocean Parkway and Church Avenue, and left the vehicle running, unlocked and unattended. The suspect entered the car without permission and drove it away, police said.
Arrested was Bay Ridge resident Rashied Kurdy, 39. According to court records, he was charged with several counts of third degree- and fourth degree-grand larceny, several counts of criminal possession of stolen property, and petit larceny. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was released without bail, under non-monitory conditions.
The allegedly-stolen 2026 Hyundai SUV can be seen in this surveillance image turning right from Henry Street onto Orange Street. Photo: Private residence surveillance
‘We thought they were coming for us’
Heights residents Adrien Cohen and James LaRosa told the Brooklyn Eagle they were walking along Orange Street between Henry and Hicks streets when they unexpectedly found themselves caught in the middle of the action.
The white SUV pulled up right next to them, boxed in by the police vehicles, Cohen said.
“And immediately, two cops per police car, they all pull out their guns — all pointing at the car — and me and my friend James are right next to this car,” Cohen said. “So we thought they were coming for us at first. We just froze.”
Closeup showing police pushing driver of the allegedly-stolen vehicle to the sidewalk on Orange Street. Photo: Private residence surveillance
As soon as the friends realized the police were actually running towards the white car, Cohen said he had the thought, “If they have guns, then this other guy might have guns — so we ran.”
Cohen and LaRosa ran about 20 feet west on Orange Street and watched the action from a building lobby. At the same time, other pedestrians were running east towards Henry Street.
It appeared that the police attempted to break the window to get the driver out, LaRosa said.
Police can be seen pushing the driver of the allegedly-stolen vehicle to the sidewalk on Orange Street. Photo: Private residence surveillance
“Then they wrestled him out of the car. They got him down on the sidewalk, handcuffed him, and put him up against the car, and then they put him in the back of one of their cars,” he said. “It all happened so quick, but we realized [after they all left] that his car was gone too. All the cars were gone after like five minutes.”
Both men said they were impressed by the quick arrest. “These guys were, honestly, very professional,” Cohen said. “There were no sirens, no messing around.”
LaRosa said he was still “kind of in shock.”
“I was happy he was with me because it was his idea to run,” LaRosa said, referring to Cohen. “Because I was in shock when I saw all that. I lived here my whole life, and I’ve never seen something like that.”