NYC Anomaly: Man alone with baby on Upper East Side

911 Emergency Response Transcript
Monday, June 21st: 11:30am


Operator:  911 emergency response.  What is your emergency?

Caller:  I'd like to report a potential child abduction.  

Operator:  Alright Ma'am.  Did you witness the crime firsthand?  Is the abductor still nearby?

Caller:  Yes, he's close.  I didn't see the abduction itself, but I can't think of any other explanation for what I'm seeing.  Can you please send the police!


Operator:  Ma'am, I'll probably be able to send a car, but first I need to get more information.  Can you briefly explain the situation to me and, if possible, keep the suspect in sight?  


Caller:  Of course.  I'm in Carl Schurz Park on the Upper East Side.  I was taking my two year old to the playground.  Are you familiar with it?  


Operator:  Yes, it's where Gracie Mansion is.  Go ahead.


Caller:  Well, I was walking by one of the grassy areas by the river, the one just behind the mansion and I saw this guy having a picnic...  just him and a baby.  It was a little before 11:30am.  He was definitely alone and I'm almost certain he wasn't meeting anyone.  He just seemed to be, I don't know, out...  alone... before noon... with a baby.  Naturally, my first inclination was to call 911.  


Operator:  Ma'am, you did the right thing.  Was there anything else that made you suspicious?


Caller:  Yes, his baby was Asian and really adorable.  It didn't make sense.  So...  and I know this is dangerous and I never should've done it...  I confronted him.  

Operator:  My God.  What happened?

Caller:  Well, I walked up and told him that his baby was cute.  He thanked me and then I asked him where the mother was.  Get this... he said that the mother was at work...  at the hospital!  He said she was a doctor and he was, quote, "looking after the baby" while she was at work.  

Operator:  What???!!!

Caller:  I know!  And he even claimed to live in Manhattan!  But that's not the end of it.  Here's the clincher.  I asked him to show me a picture of the mother.  I had to be sure.  And there's no way that this guy - this overweight, apparently unemployed, and balding man - is with this woman.  Is there anyway I can give you the proof?  I took a picture of the guy with my phone.  If I send it to you will you send a car?

Operator:  Yes, yes of course.  Send it to "suspiciousashell@thepolice.gov." I'll be able to take a look and, if we need to, upload it to the responding officers.  

Caller:  OK, here it goes. 

Operator:  It's coming through now.  Oh...my...God.  It's worse than I thought.  And what he's reading, it's a Kindle.  He doesn't even have an iPad.  


Caller:  Yes!  I know!  I forgot to tell you that!  Now, will you send someone?  Please!  


Operator:  Ma'am, I could send a car, but there's a SWAT team practicing maneuvers up at 96th and 1st.  I'm going to call them in.  Please, until they get there, keep your distance.  I'll stay with you on the line and we'll get this beautiful girl back to her rightful parents.  


Caller:  Thank you.  Thank you, but please, please hurry!  With a gut his size he's bound to get up and start searching for food soon!

It's been several weeks now that I've been a stay-at-home dad and, I have to say, I have genuinely enjoyed it.  However, I still do feel a bit out of place when walking around the Upper East Side (or almost anywhere in Manhattan for that matter) with Mimi during the day.  There just aren't a lot of us dads on the street.

Here's the basic breakdown of adult-toddler groupings you pass on any given weekday afternoon on the Upper East Side.

• 75%:  Nannies with babies, toddlers, or preschoolers
• 24%:  Stay-at-home moms with their kids
• 1%:  Steve, Mimi, and one additional suspicious looking guy with his two kids

The one thing I have going for me is that at least I'm a different ethnicity than my daughter.  95% of nannies seem to be of a different ethnic origin than their charges.  The most common pairing is African American or Hispanic nanny with a white child.  The only homogeneous pairings seem to happen when the child is non-white.  It's gotten me to think about what Sumie and I would do if we were to hire a nanny for Mimi in the next year or two.   I would prefer to have a Japanese nanny so that Mimi could focus primarily on Japanese at home, but there would be some advantages to having her pick up a third language (most likely Spanish).  My primary requirement, though, would be to hire someone with strong language skills who could impart her own culture and language (outside of my own) to broaden Mimi's understanding of the world.  I imagine there'll be more on this topic in the years to come. 

Oh, by the way, I was able to leave the park before the police came.  Thank God for small favors!