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VIDEO: NYPD Officer Chews Out Uber Driver in Foul-Mouthed Tirade

By Danielle Tcholakian | March 31, 2015 7:46am | Updated on March 31, 2015 8:43am
6th Precinct Uber Video
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YouTube/Sanjay Seth

WEST VILLAGE — The NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating a video posted Monday to YouTube that apparently shows a hostile West Village encounter between a police officer and an Uber driver.

The video appears to have been recorded on the West Side Highway. The officer is not in uniform but hands the driver a summons, refers to himself as an officer and is seen walking back to an unmarked car with flashing lights.

"Stop it with your mouth, stop it with your 'for what, sir, for what, sir?' stop it with that b——t," the officer tells the driver at the beginning of the video.

In the obscenity-laced video — recorded by a passenger in the back of the car — the officer demands to know how long the driver, who speaks with an accent, has been in the United States. 

He also tells the driver that he would arrest him but he's too busy, and the driver isn't "important enough" to the officer.

"This isn't important enough for me," the officer tells the driver. "You're not important enough."

The officer tells the alleged Uber employee that he has committed three vehicle and traffic law violations, and accuses him of  "driving up my a—."

But the passengers recount a different story, saying that the driver only honked at the police officer when the officer attempted to park without using his blinker.

"If you're going to park, you're supposed to put your blinker on," one of the passengers says. "That's how it works."

The passengers in the car say the incident was "an abuse of power, obviously."

"This guy is just a d—, to put it mildly," one passenger says with a laugh.

The passengers advise the driver not to say anything besides "yes, sir," but when the officer returns the driver attempts to explain his side of the story.

The officer becomes irate.

"Who do you think you're talking to here?" the officer screams.

At one point the officer yells at the driver to "sit in your f——g car" and slams the side of the driver's car.

"We are aware of the incident and video and it is under review with the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau," the NYPD said in a statement.

"We are disheartened by this officer's behavior and appreciate the NYPD investigating the incident," said Uber spokesman Matt Wing. "We have reached out to the driver to provide any support he needs."

The YouTube poster did not immediately respond to messages sent through YouTube and Google Plus.

The NYPD's deputy commissioner of training said in November that officers would be instructed to stop cursing.