The 38 year old NYPD detective seen on a now viral YouTube video verbally abusing an Uber driver will be transferred off of an elite anti-terror squad, said New York police chief William Bratton today.
An investigation is under way with the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board into the actions of Officer Patrick Cherry, a detective assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force. He will reportedly be stripped of his badge and weapon, and assigned to desk duty until the investigation is complete.
A visibly upset Police Commissioner William Bratton on Wednesday said the detective was placed on modified assignment pending an investigation.
"No good cop can watch that without a wince," he told reporters. "As all good cops know … the officer made their jobs a little bit harder. That kind of anger like that is unacceptable in any encounter; discourtesy like that and language like that is unacceptable. That officer's behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform."
Bratton, who said the detective was on duty at the time, issued an apology to the driver and passengers.
Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters at an unrelated news conference that he had not seen the video.
"There's just no place for any public servant to use discriminatory or negative language," he said. "Obviously, our police play a particularly sensitive role and need to show respect for all people."
Just gave testimony to CCRB. The investigation is in their hands. Here's to a quick, fair, and thorough resolution to this incident.
— Sanjay Seth (@sanjayseth) April 1, 2015
At CCRB, I spoke with an Investigator, the Chief Prosecutor, and the Executive Director. They are taking this complaint seriously.
— Sanjay Seth (@sanjayseth) April 1, 2015
Previously: "NYPD detective on Joint Terrorism Task Force abuses Uber driver with xenophobic rant"
