Police searching for escaped parolee in Stapleton

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are searching Thursday morning for an escaped parolee in Stapleton.

A large number of police personnel and vehicles from various units including EMS, K-9 and Aviation, responded shortly before 7 a.m.

According to Assistant Chief Edward Delatorre, the NYPD's borough commander, state parole officers were attempting to take the man into custody for a parole violation.

The suspects' hands were handcuffed behind his back when he escaped from a residence at 283 St. Paul's Ave. at about 6:45 a.m., according to the NYPD's Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.

At one point, the suspect was thought to have fled a couple of blocks away into a wooded area at Van Duzer and William streets.

Delatorre added that the man, who was wearing a white T-shirt and underwear when he escaped, is believed to still be in the area. Police do not believe he is armed.

Police blocked off Van Duzer Street at Prospect Avenue for a time, forcing traffic onto Prospect. Van Duzer is a highly used route for commuters headed to the Staten Island Ferry.

Van Duzer now is open to traffic.

Several other streets were also closed temporarily as a result of the search, including Wave and Sands streets where they intersect with Bay Street.

As of approximately 9 a.m., the search for the man was extended several blocks in every direction.

An NYPD spokesman was unable to supply further information about the incident.

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