Jake Godin"Sir, I just said…," said an Uber driver.
"I don't care what you have to say," said a NYPD detective. "Do you understand that? People are allowed to park their cars on the side of the street without your interference and then your opinion about what's going on, especially when the person you do it to are the police."
That's Detective Patrick Cherry of the New York City Police Department. And this is a video of him yelling at an Uber driver on March 30.
"How long have you been in this country?"
"Almost two years."
"Almost how long? Two years. I got news for you, and use this lesson, remember this in the future — don’t do that again."
Unsurprisingly, the tirade went viral. Less than a week later, the incident has come under investigation by both the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau and the city's Civilian Complaint Review Board.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio responded to the video's release Tuesday during a press conference:
"Look there's just no place for any public servant to use discriminatory or negative language."
Sanjay Seth, the man who uploaded and recorded the video, posted on Twitter he'd testified to the review board Wednesday and that they were taking the complaint seriously.
The same day, New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced that Cherry was to be placed on modified duty, adding, "No good cop can watch that (video) without a wince."
Modified duty means Cherry is being transferred from his spot on the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. He's also been barred from enforcement duties.
But a detective's union spokesman defended Cherry, saying cops are "just like everyone else" and that Cherry had just visited a fellow injured officer in the hospital.
As for what will happen once the review board finishes its investigation, it may end up recommending disciplinary action for Cherry. From there, he could see a departmental trial, which could then ultimately lead to his termination.
This video includes images from Getty Images.
