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Read the press release here.

NYPD Detectives Under Investigation for Drinking, Sex Assault, Report Says

By Patrick Hedlund | February 25, 2012 3:33pm
Four detectives are reportedly being investigated for drinking at a Washington Heights restaurant while on the job, as well as allegations of sexual assault.
Four detectives are reportedly being investigated for drinking at a Washington Heights restaurant while on the job, as well as allegations of sexual assault.
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Flickr/Nick.Allen

MANHATTAN — Four NYPD detectives are reportedly being investigated for drinking on the job in Washington Heights last week, as well as allegations that one sexually assaulted a waitress or possibly paid her for sex.

The shocking claims charged the detectives, from the 33rd Precinct in Washington Heights, with drinking wine at the restaurant Parilla on Broadway and West 164th Street while on duty last Thurs., Feb. 16, law enforcement officials told the New York Times.

It is further alleged that one of the detectives possibly paid a waitress at the restaurant for sex, and that one of the eatery’s owners inappropriately touched her after she fell asleep, the Times reported.

During their time at the restaurant, which reportedly exceeded the officers’ hour-long break, two of the detectives left for a period of time and returned. One of the detectives was reportedly off duty when he came back, while the other three remained on the clock.

The charges came to light after the waitress reported the alleged incident to staff at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital at her attorney’s behest, leading hospital workers to contact police, the Times reported.

The woman was allegedly brought to the back of the restaurant by one of the detectives, who may have paid “several hundred dollars” for sex with the woman, with the restaurant owner acting as an “intermediary,” the paper reported.

All four detectives have reportedly been placed on desk duty and stripped of their guns and badges.

A lawyer for the detectives told the Times that the waitress has not accused any of the detectives of inappropriate sexual contact.

The department’s Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating, and no criminal charges have been leveled, the Times added.