Complaint #201604526,
May 24, 2016

Summary

Late in the evening on May 23, 2016, a [redacted] -old girl, [redacted] ran away from the home of her father, [redacted] located at [redacted] in the Bronx. [redacted] reported her missing after being unable to find her, and DT Vincent Virbukas and DT Scott Patterson, both of the Bronx Detective Bureau, went to his home to investigate. Searching for [redacted] the detectives went with [redacted] Is mother lives in [redacted] to [redacted] where on the first floor. Multiple unidentified officers had gone to the location before them to look for the child, arriving sometime in the early morning hours of May 24, 2016.
[redacted] s mother was not there at the time, but her brother [redacted] was. S denied that [redacted] was in the apartment, and refused to let the officers inside to check. Many officers mobilized to the location from numerous commands, and the incident was reported over the radio as a barricaded perpetrator, possibly in custody of a missing child. The Bronx duty captain, CAPT Thomas Alps, responded to the location, and was eventually followed by INS Brian McGee, the Bronx duty inspector. They decided to have ESU respond to the scene in case they needed to breach the apartment door and force their way in.
Negotiations continued with [redacted] for approximately three hours, and he continued to deny that [redacted] was in the apartment and refuse to allow officers to enter without a warrant. CAPT Alps spoke with [redacted] through his closed door and at one point through the window of the apartment. [redacted] refused to give CAPT Alps permission to enter the apartment, and CAPT Alps could not verify that [redacted] was inside. Officers took several additional investigative steps to try and determine if [redacted] was in the apartment, including canvassing the building for witnesses, and speaking with [redacted] Is mother and other family members. None of the family members they spoke with knew where [redacted] was, but one neighbor in [redacted] had seen her that night, after she had run away from... Read report for details.