NYPD Detective Caught On Video Berating Uber Driver
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An Uber cab driver was caught on video getting berated by an NYPD detective on the West Side Highway this week.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, investigators late Tuesday confirmed that the man was indeed with the NYPD, and later confirmed that he was a detective with the NYPD Intelligence Division.
A passenger in the Uber cab recorded the traffic stop on the West Side Highway near 14th Street Monday afternoon and posted it to YouTube.
"Stop it with your mouth. Stop it with your: 'For what sir, for what sir.' Stop it with that bulls**t, and realize there are three vehicle traffic law violations that you committed, OK?" the detective says. "Do you understand me? I don't know what f***ing planet you think you're on right now."
Warning: Strong Language
The detective apparently leaves, and the passenger tells the driver he has the encounter on video, calling it "crazy" and "inappropriate" and advising the driver not to say anything.
The detective then returns.
"I don't care what you have to say. 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, OK? Especially when the person you're doing it to are the police," he tells the driver.
"The only reason why you're not in handcuffs and 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 for me. You're not important enough," the man says.
The detective was wearing a suit and no badge. He was driving an unmarked Hyundai with flashing blue and red lights in the windshield, and supposedly pulled over the driver for honking at him because the detective did not use a blinker.
At one point, he asked the Uber driver how long he has been in this country. The driver replies, "almost two years."
Sources initially told CBS2 the man claiming to be the cop was not with the NYPD at all, and authorities did not know who he was. But police later followed up and said the man was, in fact, with the NYPD and was a detective.
NYPD Detective Caught On Video Berating Uber Driver
Police said the detective's behavior most likely did not constitute any criminality.
But as WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported, Mayor Bill de Blasio said there should be no tolerance for such behavior among police.
"There's just no place for any public servant to use discriminatory or negative language," the mayor said. "Again, I'm saying that not having seen the nuances, not having seen the exact language, but I'll state the obvious principle."
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Giacalone said all law enforcement officers should realize any behavior can be caught on camera.
"If, you know, cops haven't gotten that idea that they're going to be on video -- everything they do, whether it's a traffic stop, or whether it's a domestic violence call -- you're really doing yourself an injustice," Giacalone said.
CBS2 tried talking to the passenger who posted that video at his office in Union Square. He would not speak with CBS2, but on his Twitter account, he said it was a matter between law enforcement and Uber.
According to Uber, the driver did not want to comment. But company spokesman Matt Wing issued a statement: "The behavior in this video is wrong and unacceptable, and we appreciate the NYPD investigating the incident."
The case has been turned over to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, police said. The board will meet on Wednesday to begin looking in to the allegations.
