Fake Cops Stalk Man From Midtown To Brooklyn During Mugging: NYPD

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — The NYPD is trying to identify a group of men who pretended to be undercover police officers during a robbery that started in Midtown Manhattan and ended in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, police said.

A 22-year-old man was riding a southbound D train on Monday, Sept. 10 when he was approached by three unknown men while the train was stopped inside the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station, police said. The group asked the man if they could buy drugs from him and attempted to reach into the man's bag when he denied, police said.

After the brief struggle, the men continued to talk while riding the train to 36th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn, police said. Two of the unknown men followed the 22-year-old as they got off the train and forced him into an alleyway on 35th Street between Fourth and Fifth avenues. The muggers claimed to be undercover cops as one man flashed a knife and the other punched the victim in the face, police said. The phony cops took $1,217 in cash from the man's bag, police said.

The victim refused medical attention at the scene of the robbery, police said.

Police released sketches Monday of the two suspects involved in the mugging. One of the men is described as being in his 20s and standing about 5-foot-10 with a medium build. He was last seen wearing tan cargo pants, a gray sweatshirt and white Adidas sneakers. The other man is described as being in his 20s and standing about 6-foot-1 with a medium build and distinctive scars on his face, police said. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie, navy blue jeans and blue Nike sneakers.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)

Photos by NYPD