BWC: NYPD cop on horseback chases down killer parolee after purse snatch

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By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News

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NEW YORK — An NYPD cop on horseback chased down a convicted killer on lifetime parole who had just swiped a woman’s purse on the Upper West Side, eye-popping bodycam video released by the NYPD shows.

Officer Kyle McLaughlin was patrolling near W. 72nd St. and Columbus Ave. when he heard the victim scream, “Why’d she take my bag!”

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The mounted cop galloped after the fleeing crook on his trusty steed Kelly, the officer’s body-worn camera footage released by the NYPD Thursday shows.

“Whether on foot or on hooves, our officers are always ready,” the NYPD said on X.

Dressed in a white top and black shorts, the suspect darted between cars and up and down different streets as she tried to escape the mounted cop hot on her heels, the video shows.

“Stop! Stop running!” McLaughlin screamed after her.

When the suspect was finally stopped by a passerby, the cop handcuffed her, telling her she’s “being detained.”

The stolen purse was recovered and Felicia Field, already on lifetime parole for killing a livery cab driver during a botched robbery when she was a teen, was arrested for grand larceny and false personation.

Field, 44, was released from prison just last year after serving a 24-year sentence for the April 29, 2000, slaying. She is currently homeless, according to the NYPD.

Since her release from prison on April 24, 2025, she has been arrested for misdemeanor assault and menacing in Brooklyn on Feb. 17 and petty larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in Manhattan, near where the arrest took place, on March 23, officials said.

In both cases, she was released without bail. It wasn’t immediately clear if steps had been taken to send her back to prison for violating her parole after those arrests.

Field was 18 when she and accomplices Charles Rhodes, 17, and Tyriek Cross, 17, teamed up to rob livery cab driver Cesar Manuel Lopez.

The three were smoking marijuana together in East New York when they decided to rob someone, Field confessed upon her arrest. When they couldn’t find someone to rob in nearby Starrett City, they decided to hold up a cabbie.

The trio got into Lopez’s cab, with Field sitting in the front seat, cops said. As the trio directed Lopez, 42, to drop them off on Elton St. near Flatlands Ave., Field pulled a gun on the cabbie, demanding his money.

Field told police the gun went off accidentally during the robbery, killing Lopez.

The Staten Island father of three was the ninth livery driver slain in the first four months of 2000. His death sparked a firestorm of rage from the city’s fellow livery drivers.

Scores of cab drivers showed up at Lopez’s funeral, bearing signs reading “RIP #80” in their rear windows, noting the slain cab driver’s car number.

Field was convicted of murder, attempted robbery and weapon possession after a two-week trial. Rhodes and Cross pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were each sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Her arraignment in the new case was pending Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court.

This article, originally published on April 16, has been updated with additional information about the suspect.

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