Police arrested James Mansfield (pictured), 47, on Sunday for reckless endangerment
A 47-year-old man has been arrested after shocking surveillance video showed him allegedly chasing down a bike thief in his van through the busy streets of Manhattan before knocking him and a pedestrian down.
James Mansfield, a British-born entrepreneur who owns an interior design firm, was loading a high-end bicycle into the vehicle on W 50th street and 8th Avenue around 5.30pm on Saturday.
An unidentified man then snatched the two-wheeler away and started cycling off, according to The New York Daily News.
Instead of calling the authorities, Mansfield decided to take the matter into his own hands.
So he hopped into his van to chase the bike bandit down.
According to police, Mansfield had followed the thief driving west down Ninth Ave, an eastbound street.
He eventually stopped the thief by slamming his van into him, but he also ended up hitting an innocent bystander.
Surveillance video of the incident shows Mansfield then exiting his vehicle, running up to the man thief and grabbing him.
Mansfield decided to take the matter into his own hands. So he hopped into his van to chase the bike bandit down
According to police, Mansfield had followed the thief driving west down Ninth Ave, an eastbound street
He eventually stopped the thief by slamming his van into him, but he also ended up hitting an innocent bystander
Authorities believe that Mansfield used his car to chase down a thief against traffic in Midtown Manhattan
Witnesses said that after Mansfield grabbed the thief, he began to strike him with multiple punches.
‘When he got out of the van, he hit him. Two times. He hit him two times,’Nelson Almonte told ABC News.
Medical emergency care units took the 31-year-old innocent pedestrian to the hospital where he was treated for some minor wounds to his head.
Police arrested Mansfield, charging him with reckless endangerment. The thief managed to slip away from both the cops and the angry bike owner.
As for Mansfield’s pricey bicycle, it was mangled in the crash.
Medical emergency care units took the 31-year-old innocent pedestrian to the hospital. Mansfield is pictured at his wedding
Mansfield is a ‘British born entrepreneur’ with his own interior design firm, according to his business website.