NY Police Officer abuses Uber driver
We are constantly told that most police officers are good decent people. That may be true. However the ones that abuse citizens seem to be numerous. Over the last recent weeks we have seen many.
Because many of these incidences were not caught on camera, many believe the abused are generally exaggerating their police encounter. Now with the ubiquity of cell phone cameras, surveillance cameras, and police dash cams, much is coming to light.
The attack by this police officer on the Uber driver shows the power trip and disrespect many Americans must endure. Based on the conversation in the car between the Uber driver and the passengers, the Uber driver honked his horn at the police officer as he was parking his car without engaging his signal lights. The police officer did not take kindly to that and ticketed the driver after a condescending, obscenity filled, mocking verbal attack against the driver.
The passenger who recorded the video on YouTube wrote the following.
Police abuse of Uber driver in New York City. In an unmarked car, the policeman was allegedly attempting to park without using his blinker at a green light. (His reverse lights weren’t on. Likely double parked without hazards on.) The Uber driver pulled around and gestured that he should use his blinker, casually and non-offensively, and kept driving us. The policeman quickly pulls up behind us and this is what happens.
It was clear that the driver was just trying to help out by raising awareness for distracted driving by telling the driver what he was doing wrong.
(This occurred just before 2pm on the West side of Manhattan, in police precinct 6, on March 30th, 2015. The officer did not identify himself, but he had a New York license plate: GSS 8891)
According to ABCNews, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton had the following reaction.
The officer in the video, identified as NYPD Detective Patrick Cherry, will be transferred out of his post with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, Police Commission William Bratton said today.
Bratton also offered an apology to the Uber driver and the passengers for the detective’s actions during the encounter. “Anger like that is unacceptable in any encounter. Discourtesy like that and language like that is unacceptable. That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform,” Bratton said. …
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said earlier, “There’s just no place for any public servant to use discriminatory or negative language.”
One hopes that police departments will rid themselves of officers unable to refrain from their power trips, prejudices, and biases.