The New York Police Department is searching for a Chicago gang member for trying to remove guns from holsters at officers on footsteps throughout the city and they warn he is armed.
Identified as 24-year-old Richard Sharp, who is known on TikTok as “Famous Richard,” he has posted clips of himself approaching officers while reaching for his service weapons.
The subject, self-described as a member of the street gang known as Black Disciples, has 12 arrests, including three for possession of firearms and a “history of assaulting law enforcement,” authorities said.
As news spread that the NYPD is being wanted, he posted at least three clips of himself taunting the officers.
“I’m not going to dodge the smoke, little girl,” he said in a Tiktok video posted last Friday. Sharp has around 3,500 followers on the platform.
In the video, which has been viewed some 159,000 times, Sharp pats himself in the side like he’s carrying a gun, adding: “They’re talking about the NYPD looking for me, okay? I’m going to stick with that thing too small.”
It also refers to “King David”, known as Davis Barksdale, a founding member of Black Disciples.
The NYPD issued a security alert to officers this week, warning them to “stay alert” if the gang member crosses their path.
In addition, the offender has released at least three clips of himself trying to antagonize state officials, the New York Post reported.
In one of the videos posted on TikTok, Sharp reaches out for an agent’s holstered gun.
“Is that a real Glock on your hip? Let me hold that son of a bitch,” she says in the video, prompting the officer to warn her: “Stop!”
In another clip, the man approaches an officer on the subway and says, “let me see the Glock!” to which the officer says, “If you touch me bro, we’re going to have a problem.”
Another video shows a police officer of Asian descent being insulted and mocked about his origin by Sharp in Times Square this week. The officer is observed telling the subject multiple times to “move his hand” while the offender waves a finger in the officer’s face as they launch racist verbal attacks.
“Step back, you Bruce Lee-looking man,” Sharp tells the officer, adding, “Stop messing with me, shorty before I do that to your ass.”
The NYPD security alert warned that Sharp has been “terrorizing” police officers, “trying to grab their weapons and invading personal space.”
“All the [policías] they must remain vigilant, maintain situational awareness and use safe tactics at all times,” the alert stated.
“This guy is a hooligan trying to make a name for himself,” said a retired detective. “I don’t even want to talk about him because that just gives him more street credibility. He is a sad nobody.”
Likewise, he added that “police officers must be careful when people try to grab their weapons. It has to be locked up.”
“Public taunting of officers, which is harassment and obstruction of government administration, are crimes that will not be prosecuted in the five-borough district attorney’s offices,” the retired NYPD lieutenant said. , John D. Macari, 42, who left the job after 18 years.
On the other hand, Joseph Giacalone, retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, had this to say about Sharp: “It’s not a good plan and he’s going to have a completely different perspective when he gets caught.”
Anyone with information on his location is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800)577-TIPS.
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