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Statement From Commissioner Bratton:
“With regard to the video of the incident involving an member of the NYPD and an Uber driver, no good cop should watch that without a wince. Because all good cops know that officer just made their jobs a little bit harder. In that kind of encounter, anger like that is unacceptable. In any encounter, discourtesy and obscene language like that is unacceptable. That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform.
After being made aware of the video, we referred the matter to the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau. IAB has identified the individual as a NYPD detective, assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force, who was on duty at the time of the incident. The matter was reviewed by Internal Affairs and referred to the Civilian Complaint Review Board for investigation and appropriate action. The actions seen in the video fall within their jurisdiction. But in the meantime, the detective has been placed on modified assignment and transferred, effective immediately.
I spend a lot of time telling the stories of my officers. There are thousands of them, and almost all of them are good men and women, doing hard work for the right reasons. The stories I get to tell prove it—like that of the two officers who saved a man on the Staten Island ferry last week, or that of the officers who safely apprehended a gunman in Brooklyn. I won’t allow those stories of kindness and bravery to be pushed aside by unacceptable behavior.
The men and women of the NYPD who serve this city every day deserve no less.”
The man in the video is a member of the NYPD’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, an elite group that handles counterterrorism cases in the city alongside FBI agents.
He has been placed on modified duty and transferred, Commissioner Bratton said.
From NBC-NY: “He really should not be judged by one isolated incident,” said Michael Palladino, the president of the union.
Bratton disagreed, saying, “In that kind of encounter, anger like that is unacceptable. In any kind of encounter, discourtesy like that and language like that is unacceptable.”
“No good cop can watch that without a wince,” he said. “All good cops know that the officer just made their jobs a liittle bit harder.”
YouTube Description: Police abuse of Uber driver in New York City. In an unmarked car, the policeman was allegedly attempting to park without using his blinker at a green light. (His reverse lights weren’t on. Likely double parked without hazards on.)
The Uber driver pulled around and gestured that he should use his blinker, casually and non-offensively, and kept driving us. The policeman aggressively pulls up behind us and this is what happens.
(This occurred just before 2pm on the West side of Manhattan, in police precinct 6, on March 30th, 2015. The officer did not identify himself, but he had a New York license plate: GSS 8891)
Warning Graphic Language:
