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VIDEO: Man Leaps Atop NYPD Cars With Officers Inside on Busy Harlem Street

 Videos of the incident posted to Facebook have racked up nearly 1.5 million views.
Videos of the incident posted to Facebook have racked up nearly 1.5 million views.
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Facebook/Ryan Whittick

HARLEM — A man climbed on top of two NYPD cruisers in the middle of traffic in a series of video clips that have racked up nearly 1.5 million views.

The unidentified individual was caught on camera pacing in oncoming traffic at West 119th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard before hopping onto the roof and windshield of a slowly approaching NYPD cruiser, according to one of the clips posted Friday. It was not immediately clear when the video was taken.

Warning: Graphic Language

The man, sporting black shorts and a white T-shirt, then climbs down from the cruiser and continues to pace in traffic after the cruiser briefly leaves the scene, the video shows.

Another NYPD cruiser then pulls up with its sirens on before the man jumps on top of a dark-colored car and onto the second cruiser, according to the video, which was posted to Rick Whittick's Facebook account. Whittick did not immediately respond to requests to comment.

Several police officers quickly surround the man as he appears to be talking to the officers in two more videos posted on Facebook by the same individual. In the final video, multiple officers are shown surrounding the man and taking him to the ground. 

An NYPD spokesman said it is not likely the man was charged since there were no arrests describing the incident that day.  

The New York Daily News reported that the man, who they described as 42 years old, was later taken into custody by medics for a psychiatric evaluation at Harlem Hospital.

The four videos have attracted nearly 1.5 million views combined since they were posted Friday evening.

The cameraman can be heard in the background expressing shock at the man’s antics.

“Only in Harlem” he says.