Prince Harry and Meghan ‘paparazzi car chase’ was not ‘near catastrophic’, NYPD officials suggest
Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and her mother were involved in a “near catastrophic” car chase after being followed by paparazzi for more than two hours, according to his spokesperson.
But two New York police officials have played down the incident saying they do not believe the chase was “near catastrophic” and described a “bit of a chaotic scene”.
A taxi driver who picked up Harry, Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland outside the New York City Police Department’s 19 precinct at around 11pm local time on Tuesday said they were in his car around 10 minutes.
Sukhcharn Singh told The Washington Post: “I don’t think I would call it a chase. I never felt like I was in danger.
“It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York – it’s safe.”
Mr Singh also said he got the impression from the Sussexes that they had already been pursued by paparazzi before they got in his car.
Meanwhile, New York’s mayor Eric Adams has said two police officers could have been injured as they assisted Harry and Meghan’s private security team while their car was being followed.
The pursuit took place after the Sussexes had attended an awards ceremony at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York on Tuesday – their first public appearance since the King’s coronation.
Harry’s spokesperson said: “Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.
“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety.
“Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved.”
Julian Phillips, the deputy commissioner of the New York Police Department, has said officers “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.
He continued: “There were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
New York City mayor on ‘reckless’ car chase
New York’s mayor said later: “The press or paparazzi, you know, they want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story.
“But public safety must always be at the forefront. In a briefing I received (I heard) two of our officers could have been injured… I don’t think there’s many of us who don’t recall how (Harry’s) mum died.
“It would be horrific to lose the innocent bystander during a chase like this and something to have happened to them as well.”
Mr Adams added he believes the behaviour of those following the Sussexes was “reckless and irresponsible”.
Harry and Meghan are pictured leaving a New York awards ceremony before the car chase
Harry, Meghan and Ms Ragland were reportedly followed by half a dozen blacked-out vehicles which were being driven by unidentified people.
The vehicles are said to have driven on pavements, jumped red lights and reversed down a one-way street.
It has also been said at least one driver was using their phone behind the wheel.
At least one other is reported to have been photographing while driving.
One of the cars is said to have illegally blocked a moving vehicle.
Those pursuing the Sussexes are said to have been confronted by uniformed police multiple times but continued their pursuit.
Harry and Meghan are thought to have been staying at a private residence and did not want to compromise the security of their friend’s home.
The Sussexes are understood to accept a heightened level of attention when they are at public events, and prior to the chase they are said to have exited and entered the New York venue publicly, allowing photographers to get pictures.
Omid Scobie, who wrote the book “Finding Freedom” about Harry and Meghan, has tweeted to say a source has said the Sussexes and Ms Ragland are “understandably shaken but thankful everyone’s safe”.
Read more:
What has Prince Harry previously said about the paparazzi?
Pictures that have appeared on social media have shown Harry, Meghan and her mother Ms Ragland in a taxi.
The Duchess of Sussex had encouraged women to fight for equity at the Ms. Foundation for Women’s annual gala.
“It’s never too late to start,” she said at the event in New York. “You can be the visionary of your own life… There is still so much work to be done.”
Harry and Meghan stepped down from their royal roles in 2020 and moved to the United States partly because of what they described as intense media harassment.
Prince Harry, Doria Ragland and Meghan Markle, are seen arriving at the “Woman Of Vision Awards”
The prince has long spoken out about his anger about press intrusion which he blames for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed when her limousine crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
The car chase comes after a man was reportedly arrested outside Harry and Meghan’s home for stalking in the early hours of Monday, according to TMZ.
A representative for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office told the celebrity news site they got a call from security staffers at the couple’s LA mansion at around 2am local time.
It’s 5.30am, but the car park outside a laundrette in south central Los Angeles is already bustling.
A woman is setting up a stand selling tacos on the pavement and the sun is beginning to rise behind the palm trees.
A group of seven women and two men are gathered in a circle, most wearing khaki green t-shirts.
The leader, a man named Francisco “Chavo” Romero, begins by asking how everyone is feeling. “Angry,” a few of them respond. “Proud of the community for pushing back,” says another.
Ron, a high school history teacher, issues a rallying cry. “This is like Vietnam,” he says. “We’re taking losses, but in the end we’re going to win. It’s a war.”
Francisco ‘Chavo’ Romero leads a volunteer group, attempting to warn people ahead of ICE raids
This is what the resistance against Donald Trump’s immigration policy looks like here. In the past month, immigration and customs enforcement agents – known as ICE – have intensified their raids on homes and workplaces across Los Angeles.
Since the beginning of June, nearly 2,800 undocumented immigrants have been arrested in the city, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The previous monthly high was just over 850 arrests in May this year.
Police use tear gas against protesters, angry at a recent immigration raid at a farm in Camarillo, California. Pic: AP
Videos have circulated online of people being tackled to the ground in the car park of DIY shops, in car washes and outside homes. The videos have prompted outrage, protests and a fightback.
“Chavo” and Ron belong to a group of organised volunteers called Union del Barrio. Every morning, a group of them meet, mostly in areas which have high immigrant populations.
The day I meet them, they’re in an area of LA which is heavily Latino. Armed with walkie talkies to communicate with each other, megaphones to warn the community and leaflets to raise awareness they set out in cars in different directions.
A volunteer from Union del Barrio shows Sky’s Martha Kelner how they try to stay one step ahead of ICE agents
They’re looking for cars used by ICE agents to monitor “targets”.
“That vehicle looks a little suspicious,” says Ron, pointing out a white SUV with blacked-out windows, “but there’s nobody in it”.
An elderly Latino man is standing on a street corner, cutting fruit to sell at his stall. “He’s the exact target that they’re looking for,” Ron says. “That’s what they’re doing now. The low-hanging fruit, the easy victim. And so that is proving to be more successful for their quotas.”
This man, selling fruit on a street corner in LA, is a potential target of immigration agents
In the end, it turns out to be a quiet morning in this part of LA, no brewing immigration operations. But elsewhere in the city, dawn raids are happening.
ICE agents are under pressure from the White House to boost their deportation numbers in line with Donald Trump’s campaign promise to crack down on illegal immigration.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
In June, tear gas and rubber bullets were fired at protestors demonstrating against immigration raids
Maria’s husband Javier was one of those arrested in LA. He came to the United States from Mexico when he was 19 and is now 58.
The couple have three grown-up children and two grandchildren. But Javier’s work permit expired two years ago, according to Maria and so he was living here illegally.
Maria’s husband Javier was arrested after his work permit expired
She shows me a video taken last month when Javier was at work at a car wash in Pomona, an area of LA. He is being handcuffed and arrested by armed and masked ICE agents, forced into a car. He is now being held at a detention centre two hours away.
“I know they’re doing their job,” she says, “but it’s like, ‘you don’t have to do it like that.’ Getting them and, you know, forcing people and pushing them down on the ground. They’re not animals.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
US troops accused of ‘political stunt’ after park raid
Maria wipes away tears as she explains the impact of his absence for the past four weeks. “It’s been so hard without him,” she says. “You feel alone when you get used to somebody and he’s not there any more. We’ve never been apart for as long as this.”
The family have a lawyer and is appealing for him to remain in the US, but Maria fears he will be sent back to Mexico or even a third country.
Maria fears her husband, who has lived in the US for nearly 40 years, will be sent back to Mexico
“I don’t know what to say to my grandkids because the oldest one, who is five was very attached to his papas, as he calls him. And he’s asking me, ‘When is papa coming home?’ and I don’t know what to say. He’s not a criminal.”
The fear in immigrant communities can be measured by the empty restaurant booths and streets that are far quieter than usual.
People in LA are being asked to report sightings of ICE officials so others can be warned
I meet Soledad at the Mexican restaurant she owns in Hollywood. When I arrive, she’s watching the local news on the TV as yet another raid unfolds at a nearby farm.
She’s shaking her head as ICE agents face off with protesters and military helicopters hover overhead. “I am scared. I am very scared,” she says.
All of her eight employees are undocumented, and four of them are too scared to come into work, she says, in case they get arrested. The process to get papers, she says, is too long and too expensive.
Read more from Sky News:
Farmer first to die during ICE raids
Trump warns comic over citizenship
Soledad, who owns a Mexican restaurant, plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive
“They call me and tell me they are too afraid to come in because immigration is around,” she says.
“I have to work double shifts to be able to make up for their hours, and yes, I am very desperate, and sometimes I cry… We have no sales, and no money to pay their wages.”
There is just one woman eating fajitas at a booth, where there would usually be a lunchtime rush. People are chilled by the raids.
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Soledad says she plans to hide her illegal workers if immigration officials arrive.
“I’ve told them, get inside the fridge, hide behind the stove, climb up where we have a space to store boxes, do not run because they will hunt you down.”
The White House says they’re protecting the country from criminals. ICE agents have been shot at while carrying out operations, their work becoming more dangerous by the day.
The tension here is ratcheting up. Deportation numbers are rising too. But the order from Donald Trump is to arrest even more people living here illegally.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike