Patrick Cherry has been stripped of his gun and shield after the NYPD detective was caught on video berating an Uber driver in a racially tinged tirade.
The incident, which took place this weekend on the West Side Highway in Greenwich Village, was caught on tape by a passenger in the backseat. The driver reportedly honked at Cherry and gave him the middle finger after Cherry tried to park his unmarked police car along the highway.
Cherry pulled over the driver and launched into a tirade , while the driver said little in return.
On Wednesday the NYPD took action , removing Patrick Cherry from his post on the department’s elite Joint Terrorism Task Force and sticking him on desk duty. The department also publicly condemned his behavior.
“No good cop should watch that video without a wince,” Commissioner Bill Bratton said at a Wednesday press conference. “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,” Bratton continued. “In any encounter, discourtesy and obscene language like that is unacceptable.
“That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform.”
The incident had racial overtones , as Cherry often referred to the driver’s nationality and mocked his accent.
“Stop it with your mouth, stop it with your, ‘For what, sir?’ You understand me? I don’t know what [epithet] planet you think you’re on right now,” the officer shouted at the driver.
Cherry went on to shout at the driver and mock him further.
“I don’t know where you’re coming from or where you think you’re appropriate in doing that,” Cherry yelled through the car’s window.”That’s not the way it works. How long have you been in this country?”
“Almost how long? Two years,” the driver responded.
“I got news for you, and use this lesson – don’t ever do that again,” Cherry responded. “The only reason you’re not in handcuffs going to jail and getting summonses in the precinct is because I have things to do. That’s the only reason that’s not happening, because this isn’t important enough to me, you’re not important enough.”
Patrick Cherry is going before a Civilian Complaint Review Board, and if he is found guilty of berating the Uber driver it could be a permanent mark on his record. The ultimate punishment — up to firing — would be up to Bratton.
[Image via YouTube/Sanjay Seth]
