CIVIC CENTER — The NYPD detective caught on video screaming obscenities at an Uber driver has been removed from his elite post working alongside FBI agents in the Joint Terrorism Task Force and stripped of his gun and badge, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Wednesday.
In the video — recorded by passenger Sanjay Seth and uploaded to YouTube Monday afternoon — Det. Patrick Cherry is seen berating the driver, and demanding to know how long the driver, who speaks with an accent, has been in the United States.
"No good cop can watch that [video] without a wince," Bratton said at an afternoon press conference at Police Headquarters. "That kind of an encounter, anger like that, is unacceptable."
“That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears that uniform.”
Cherry, formerly assigned to the NYPD's Arson and Explosives Unit, told friends and colleagues he only blew up after the driver flipped him off and mouthed "f— you," sources said.
But in the video, Seth, another passenger, and the driver all say that the driver only honked at Cherry, and did so because Cherry attempted to park along the West Side Highway without signaling.
Seth tweeted on Wednesday that he had just given testimony before an investigator, the chief prosecutor and the executive director of the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
“They are taking this complaint seriously,” Seth tweeted. "The investigation is in their hands. Here’s to a quick, fair and thorough resolution to this incident.”
If the CCRB finds the complaint substantiated, Cherry will have a permanent mark on his record. He could end up with a second mark on his record if he is found guilty of misconduct by a CCRB judge.
But the CCRB judge cannot impose any punishment on Cherry: The ruling would be sent to Bratton, who would have the final say over what happens to Cherry.
Bratton did not say how long Cherry will be on modified duty for, or where he has been transferred.
With reporting by Murray Weiss
