WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY -- Mayor was disgusted by what he saw on a video captured by the home security system of Sunday: A man passed out on North Main Street for hours, with a number of people simply walking over him and then robbing him as he was unconscious.
“This is not Port Chester. This is not what this community is all about,” said Pilla.
Pilla, like McNerney, was surprised to see what was captured on the security cam video, which has attracted extensive media attention since it was first posted on Port Chester Patch on Monday.
Pilla said that in the wake of what was seen in the video, Port Chester police are investigating the robbery of the Port Chester day laborer who is seen sprawled out on the sidewalk in front of McNerney’s home. Additionally, Pilla said village police are conducting an internal review to determine what, if anything, the department could or should have done differently in this situation.
Although the man was one the ground on North Main Street not far from a local night spot, no one called police to report there was an unconscious man that needed help. The man was discovered about 10:30 a.m. Sunday by McNerney and his wife because the man was in their backyard.
McNerney said he called police because the man was attempting to open a back door to the house."We thought someone was trying to get into the house," he recalled.
McNerney said he did not know the man had been on the ground in front of the house for hours until he later checked the security video.
When Port Chester police arrived at the home, Sergio Palacios, 38, of 30 Broad St., was charged with criminal trespassing. At the time, police said Palacios was highly intoxicated and he did not report to police that he had been robbed.
Police have since interviewed Palacios again, who now reports a watch and cash were stolen from him.
McNerney said the reason he installed the security camera system in front of his 459 N. Main St. home was to help him gather material to show others about late-night noise problems in his neighborhood. He said he hopes the material caught on tape Sunday sheds new light on issues he and his neighbors face. The video also shows activities including a woman getting out of a car to urinate in the street.
However, McNerney agrees with comments from others like Pilla that the scene captured on the video is very unusual — with people simply walking over the unconscious man without calling police and robbing him.
“Port Chester is the kind of place where people help each other,” Pilla said. “This is not representative of Port Chester.”
McNerney said that since his blog posting Monday on Port Chester Patch, the video has led to him being interviewed by numerous television crews. And, this morning he and is wife were scheduled to appear on the WPIX 11 morning show.
