They did that in the end, but not after fannying around traffic for over an hour. 
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“This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers,” the spokesperson said.
I hope they identified and are pressing charges against these sleazeballs for reckless driving.
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And public endangerment.
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Thanks for pointing this out. My tired old brain tends to run out of steam by the end of one or two paragraphs, and then leap face first in to the comments.
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The NBC article didn’t mention anything about emergency vehicles, just a police escort and private security.
The FDR is only three lanes wide in most places so in theory it shouldn’t take more than three private security cars traveling in parallel to slow down and box in traffic behind them while Harry an Meghan’s car travels ahead and exits without being seen.
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Police vehicles in a police escort ARE emergency vehicles.
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Ok, but nothing in the article suggests the paparazzi failed to pull over for a police escort.
Also, I may have misinterpreted this to mean police vehicles were involved:
Julian Phillips, the NYPD’s deputy commissioner of public information, said officers “assisted the private security team protecting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.”
‘Sonny’ Singh was driving his yellow taxi through Manhattan on Tuesday night when he picked up an extraordinary fare.
He tells BBC News that a security guard hailed him and “next thing Prince Harry and his wife were hopping into my cab”.
He says that as they travelled a block, they “got blocked by a garbage truck and all of a sudden paparazzi came and starting taking pictures”.
He said the group, which also included Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, were just about to tell him the location they wanted to be taken to, but then told him to go back to the police station… where he dropped them off.
“They looked nervous, I think they were being chased the whole day or something - but the security guard he was on it,” Singh said.
Asked about the description of a “near catastrophic chase” he said “I don’t think that’s true, I think that’s all exaggerated”.
He said he didn’t feel in danger and that the police weren’t following - “they only helped when we were blocked by the trash truck they honked and then they went their way we went our way”.
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If I was afraid of history repeating itself I wouldn’t engage in a car chase to avoid having my picture taken.
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No decoy car?
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FWIW, this is what Slate has (via TMZ, so take it as you will):
Blockquote According to TMZ, the trio left the event in an SUV, followed by police officers, when “a half-dozen blacked-out vehicles” with photographers inside violated all sorts of traffic laws—including, allegedly, driving on sidewalks, blazing through red lights, and driving the wrong way down one-way streets—in pursuit of the SUV. At some point, the couple reportedly switched vehicles, jumping into a yellow taxi, while “the cops tried to outwit the paps by driving in a different direction than the cab.”
and
Blockquote Wait—they got into a yellow cab? Why wouldn’t they just … pull over?
Unclear! It is NYC, which is full of cabs—a yellow cab could maybe be inconspicuous? As for the pulling over part—on one hand, I agree, but on the other hand: Then what?
The Washington Post interviewed a taxi driver, Sukhcharn Singh, who said that he picked the group up around 11 p.m. after their security guard hailed him outside the NYPD’s 19th precinct on East 67th St. Singh confirmed the car was pursued by two vehicles, but added, “I don’t think I would call it a ‘chase.’ I never felt like I was in danger. It wasn’t like a car chase in a movie. They were quiet and seemed scared but it’s New York—it’s safe.”
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Why wouldn’t they expect the same treatment in America? Rupert owns all the papers that buy (some say ORDER) these encroachments, so as long as nothing happens to Rupert, harassment will continue as planned.
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I’m kinda amazed that the resulting photos would be worth so much in this day and age. Are these sleazy tabloid rags actually too ethical to just publish cheap AI-generated photos instead of hiring paparazzi?
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They are scared of British libel laws.
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Business Idea:
Renovate a small box truck…allow it to look crappy on the outside, like something at a fish market, but renovate the interior of the box compartment like a nice limousine or taxi with all the best safety features such as harness seat belts and fancy cupholders with USB ports. Maybe even a TV screen? 
Offer your services to the rich folks like this and deliver them anonymously to their destination. ETA: You know, around back.
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Apparently they started in a cab with their other car as a decoy but that did not last long.
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Ordinary-looking Sprinter Vans that have expensive, luxurious interiors have been one of the vehicles of choice for celebrities for a number of years now. Much roomier than a limousine and if you get a silver or white one they blend in well with a lot of other vehicles on the road.
But if you really wanted to blend in while traveling NYC you could convert the interior of an old garbage truck like in Hellboy.
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A lot of information is coming out about this, but based on the responses alone these two are justified in fearing for their lives in a regular taxi, let alone being followed.
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If it’s ok to ask: what did you do?
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