By Patrick Hedlund and Michael Ventura
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — A quick-thinking police officer manning a polling place in Greenwich Village foiled a bank robbery Tuesday morning, the NYPD said.
At 8:40 a.m., Terence Flynn, 46, of SoHo, allegedly passed a note demanding money to a teller at the HSBC Bank at 769 Broadway at East 9th Street and made off with an unknown amount of cash, police said.
A police officer working at the polling site tucked into the high-rise at 2 Washington Square Village, on West 3rd Street near Mercer Street, heard the call about the robbery over his radio, police sources said.
The officer listened to a description of the suspect and stepped outside the polling place to have a look, sources said. He then saw a man who matched the description of the suspect and stopped him, the NYPD said.
Police sources added that the officer tussled with the suspect before police in the area saw the incident and aided in the arrest.
The man was identified as the bank robber and the money was recovered, according to police.
Flynn faces robbery, criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest charges, police said.
"I saw the cops. They had a bag," added Young Lee, owner of the Le Basket deli at the corner of West 3rd Street and Broadway, next to where the incident unfolded. "It looked like money."
The officer returned to the polling site and was greeted by a round of applause, poll workers said.
"We got to meet a hero," said Nilda Aviles, 57, of the Lower East Side, who was working the polling place at the time. "The Finest in action."
