Street Sweeper Takes Police on Wild Car Chase Through Brooklyn

After police were called to the scene where Roman Protas was observed throwing objects at a statue of Jesus, the New York Department of Sanitation

 A compact streetsweeper.
Photo by Ponchitos at English Wikipedia

worker climbed into his street sweeper and “floored it!”

The police followed Protas from St. Francis De Chantal Roman Catholic Church in Borough Park, where the chase began at 8:30am, for several blocks, until they finally caught up with him.

“We observed this individual in full DSNY uniform, fleeing the scene in a street sweeper — a Department of Sanitation machine,” a police spokesman said.

Charges were brought against Protas for the chase: reckless endangerment, fleeing an officer in a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and going through a red light. For his actions against the church’s statue of Jesus: criminal tampering and reckless endangerment of property. In addition, when the police apprehended Protas they found prescription drugs on his person for which he had no prescription. For that offense he has been charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

A DSNY spokeswoman said that Protas is a sanitation worker who has worked at the department since October 2004. He is now suspended from his job at the Brooklyn South 12 garage until the NYPD complete their investigation.