Arrest Put Bizarre Cap on N.Y. Case

A veteran police officer with training in dealing with mental patients showed "considerable restraint" Friday in the arrest of a knife-wielding fashion writer wanted for questioning in a bizarre and brutal New York City sexual assault, a University of Memphis official said Saturday.

Peter Braunstein, 42, whose articles have been in The Village Voice and Women's Wear Daily, had been dodging police since early November.

He was in fair condition in the jail ward at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis on Saturday, a day after stabbing himself in the neck during his capture.

New York detectives hoped to question him in Memphis about an attack on a female acquaintance in Manhattan.

As New Yorkers celebrated Halloween, a man posing as a firefighter responding to a blaze barged into the 34-year-old woman's apartment, knocked her out with a chemical-soaked rag and molested her over many hours.

He has not yet been charged with the Halloween attack, but Manhattan prosecutors said they will ask that he be held and returned to New York for violating the terms of his probation in an unrelated case, in which he had stalked and menaced a different woman.

A $12,000 reward had been offered for information leading to Braunstein's arrest.

Friday afternoon, university police were on alert after Annette Brown, 35, who works on campus, flagged down an officer and said she believed she had seen a man featured on the television show "America's Most Wanted."

"I was so close to him I could reach out and hug him," Brown said in an interview with the New York Post. "He had a sleeping bag tied to his book bag and that immediately alerted me. It's not normal to see that on campus."

The campus was almost deserted because most students and faculty left Thursday for winter break.

Bruce Harber, U of M director of public safety, said officer Jay Johnson spotted Braunstein walking on Patterson along the west side of campus shortly after the tip came in.

Johnson got out of his patrol car and told Braunstein, who was walking away, to stop.

When Braunstein pulled a six-inch knife from a pocket, Johnson drew his handgun, Harber said.

At this point, the confrontation could have ended with the officer shooting in self-defense, Harber said.

"The rule of thumb is 21 feet. A person armed with a knife that close to an officer is very dangerous," Harber said.

As Johnson continued to order Braunstein to drop the knife, the New Yorker began stabbing himself in the neck, Harber said.

Johnson then used pepper spray to immobilize Braunstein. As he was being subdued, Braunstein told the officer he had a pellet gun.

Earlier reports that said Braunstein pulled both a knife and a gun on the officer were wrong, Harber said.

Johnson has been with University Police for four years. He joined after retiring from the Germantown Police Department as a lieutenant. He has received 40 hours of professional training in how to deal with mentally ill individuals and those attempting suicide, Harber said.

Memphis police officers investigate the spot at Patterson and Norriswood where Peter Braunstein stabbed himself after being approached by a University of Memphis campus police officer Friday afternoon. A university employee who was familiar with the case told the New York Post that the sleeping bag Braunstein was carrying made her suspicious, so she notified police.

Father Of Accused Rapist Talks

A nationwide manhunt for an accused violent rapist ends in Memphis and his father talks exclusively to Eyewitness News.

Peter Braunstein was wanted for questioning in the Halloween night sexual attack on a woman in her Manhattan apartment. He is accused of setting a the woman's apartment on fire, posing as a firefighter to get into her apartment, and then raping her for 13 hours before leaving her bound to her bed.

Late Friday afternoon, University of Memphis police caught Braunstein on campus. Police say Braunstein was walking on Patterson when a University officer recognized him from a picture that had been handed out to all officers earlier in the day.

"I didn't know who the guy was until about an hour after it happened, and they said he's America's Most wanted, a serial rapist from New York, and I said what?!" says Wesley Gifford, a University student.

Gifford saw a University police officer take down Braunstein right across from his dorm. "He had the gun out and he pepper sprayed him and he didn't go down. Then he turned around and threw something over in the grass and then he stabbed himself here in the neck," Gifford says.

Braunstein has been the target of a nationwide manhunt since the Halloween attack. He was first spotted in Memphis at a blood donation center.

Then on Friday, a University employee spotted the man on campus after seeing his picture on television and told police he might be their guy.

Bruce Harber, the director of the University police, says, "One of our officers was driving up Patterson Avenue and thought he saw the guy and approached him and that's when the individual pulled out a knife and started stabbing himself." When he was cornered, Braunstein said "I'm the person you're looking for," before stabbing himself in the neck three times.

In addition to the knife Braunstein stabbed himself with, police found a gun buried in his bag. They feel they may have caught him just in time.

Harber says, "The call came in, what are the chances of the tip actually being good, but we took it very seriously and I guess fortunately, if he turns out to be the individual we think he is, he is in custody now."

Police say 42-year-old Peter Braunstein is a former fashion writer who worked at Women's Daily and The Village Voice. He wrote articles like "Wicked Women to Watch." A New York paper reported he had a fetish for women's shoes and that he is also a big fan of pornography.

Police also say Braunstein's been in trouble with the law before. He's on probation for harassing an ex-girlfriend. Before he was caught in Memphis, Braunstein was spotted in both Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Police say Braunstein has posed as a movie producer, a retired police officer, and a U.S. Marshall since leaving New York City.

Eyewitness News talked exclusively with Peter's father, Alberto Braunstein. Mr. Braunstein is relieved that his son is safe, and he hopes he gets help for his mental problems.

Meantime, the woman who spotted Braunstein at the University of Memphis will be speaking at a news conference Monday morning. You can count on Eyewitness News for continuing coverage.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.