Brooklyn Bridge White Flag Culprits Avoiding Capture, So Far

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ JULY 25, 2014

Authorities said the perpetrators went onto the Brooklyn Bridge just after 3 a.m. Tuesday to switch the flags. Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

The daredevils who scaled the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge and put white flags in place of the American flags there have eluded capture for three days, and authorities said Friday that they were not much closer to finding them.

'Already a couple of calls have come in, but nothing really specific,' said a senior Police Department official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the open investigation.

There were reports that DNA had been found on the bridge, though they could not be confirmed. Even if DNA had been found, the official said, it was unlikely it could generate any significant leads.

The attention the case has received, however, might help. The two white flags waving over one of the city's most recognizable structures sent Facebook, Twitter, newspapers and even major television networks aflutter when they were discovered early on Tuesday.

The details of the escapade were just as riveting.

The authorities said the perpetrators went onto the bridge just after 3 a.m. and used what appeared to be large aluminum baking pans to block the large lights that illuminate the towers at night. The group then climbed one tower and then another to switch out the flags before climbing down and disappearing.

A New York City police officer carries a bag with a white flag that was removed from atop New York's Brooklyn Bridge on Tuesday. Richard Drew/Associated Press

That there were no witnesses seems impossible. Even at night, traffic moves at a steady clip over the bridge. And yet no one has come forward to offer specific evidence, officials said.

The episode has raised questions about security at the Brooklyn Bridge. This week, City Hall vowed to increase surveillance there and elsewhere. A Police Department spokeswoman said no officers had been disciplined for the security breach.

Anthony Shorris, the first deputy mayor, said in a statement on Thursday, 'The N.Y.P.D. has already implemented increased security measures on the Brooklyn Bridge, and multiple agencies are collaborating with the police on further measures that will increase the safety of this and other key facilities.'

In a sign of the gravity of the breach, John Miller, the deputy commisisoner in charge of the Police Department's intellgence division, along with several other officers, climbed to the top of a tower to further inspect the site and look for evidence.

Security at major New York City landmarks was already under scrutiny. In March the head of security for 1 World Trade Center resigned after several people were able to gain access to the building and climb to the roof. In one case, several men jumped from the top of the 1,776-foot tower and parachuted to the street below. They were later arrested.

If anyone is caught, it will likely be because they turn themselves in or brag about it to someone who alerts the police.

'Nobody goes in the stealth of the night to do some stunt without wanting to get some kind of recognition,' the police official said. 'A stunt is done to entertain.'