Overview

• Stephen Blasetti slipped out of New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Washington Heights early Wednesday and remains at large as NYPD launches a citywide search.
• Security footage shows him donning a lab coat and hospital pants but no shoes before allegedly using stolen handcuff keys to break free from a sleeping guard.
• The officer assigned to watch Blasetti has been suspended without pay and the department has opened an internal review of hospital custody protocols.
• Blasetti faces grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and reckless endangerment charges stemming from his July 19 nude joyride on the Hudson River.
• With 73 prior “emotionally disturbed person” calls on record and sealed past arrests, his escape has renewed debate over managing mental health crises in law enforcement custody.