NYPD Mounted Officer on Horse 'Kelly' Chases, Apprehends Alleged Purse Snatcher on Upper West Side; Bodycam Footage Released

Newly released body camera footage shows an NYPD mounted officer riding a horse named Kelly as the pair pursued and helped detain an alleged purse snatcher on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The footage, circulated on social media and later highlighted by national outlets, captures the officer and horse galloping through crowded streets as pedestrians scramble to avoid the path of the pursuit.

The encounter began after an apparent purse theft near West 72nd Street. In the bodycam video, the mounted officer can be heard shouting, “Stop!” and “Stop running!” as Kelly closes the distance on the fleeing suspect. The chase continued down a busy stretch of the neighborhood until a bystander intervened near a parked Verizon truck, helping to stop the suspect.

“I’m putting cuffs on you,” the officer says in the footage. “You’re being detained.” Police confirmed the suspect was taken into custody and that the stolen purse was recovered. The short video provides a detailed, up-close record of the interaction from the officer’s point of view, showing both the speed of the pursuit and the coordination between the mounted officer, her horse, and members of the public.

The NYPD issued a statement following the release of the footage, noting the department’s continued use of mounted units in the city. “Whether on foot or on hooves, our officers are always ready,” the department said. The NYPD added, “After someone stole a purse near West 72nd Street, our Mounted officer & his horse, Kelly, kept on her trail.

”Galloping down the street & with the help of a witness, they recovered the purse & apprehended the suspect.”

Mounted police units remain a common feature of law enforcement in New York City and other large municipalities because horses offer distinct operational advantages in certain urban environments. Officers on horseback can see over dense crowds, move through areas that are difficult or slow for vehicles to traverse, and, as the footage shows, rapidly close distances on fleeing suspects. Those features are often cited by police departments as reasons for maintaining mounted patrols for crowd control, public engagement, and targeted enforcement.

The encounter and the released video have prompted conversations about the practical value of mounted patrols as well as the role of body-worn cameras in documenting police actions. The footage provides immediate visual evidence of the arrest, the condition of the scene, and the interactions between officers, civilians and the suspect, which can be useful for both internal police review and public transparency.

Local outlets and social media accounts shared the clip soon after police released it; a post embedding the footage was carried by national news organizations. The department did not release additional identifying information about the suspect in the initial statement, nor did it provide details about any charges. As is standard in active policing matters, further details about the investigation and the suspect’s status were not immediately available.

The incident underscores how law enforcement agencies continue to rely on a variety of tools and tactics to respond to street-level crime in dense urban neighborhoods. In this case, a mounted officer and her horse, aided by a witness, were credited with stopping a short, high-speed chase and recovering a stolen item, according to police.