Eric Adams weighed in on the incident that took the internet by storm. As we previously reported, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spoke out saying the two were involved in a “near catastrophic” paparazzi chase.
the statement read, “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,” the spokesperson shared.
“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD (New York Police Department) officers.”
After the news began to flood the internet, New York City major Eric Adams held a press conference where he seemingly said he doesn’t believe the incident took place.
“I would find it hard to believe that there was a two hour high speed chase.” Adams said. “That would be hard to believe but we will find out the exact duration of it, but if its 10 minutes, a 10 minute chase is extremely dangerous in New York City. We have a lot of traffic, a lot of movement and a lot of people are using our streets.”
He continued, “Any type of high speed chase that involves something of that nature is inappropriate. Police do it under limited circumstances when they’re going after violent people, but to do it because you want to get the right shot can turn out to be a place where people can be harmed in a real way.”
In a statement, the New York Police Department (NYPD) confirmed the outline of the Sussexes’ account but described it in less colorful language. The NYPD “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” on Tuesday evening and “there were numerous photographers that made their transport challenging,” said Julian Phillips, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner for public information.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived at their destination and there were no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests in regard,” he said.
The couple’s spokesperson said that 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” and urged the media not to publish photographs from the incident. “Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all in involved.”