New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton announced that Patrick Cherry, the NYPD detective who berated and yelled at an Uber driver this week, will be stripped of his badge and gun, reported CBS News.
“No good cop should watch that video without a wince,” said Bratton. “Because all good cops know that officer just made their jobs a little bit harder.”
“In any kind of encounter, discourtesy like that and language like that is unacceptable. That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform,” Bratton continued.
In response to Cherry’s behavior, which was videotaped by an Uber passenger, Bratton placed the detective on desk duty and pulled him from his position with the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a multi-agency group based in New York City. The NYPD Internal Affairs and Civilian Complaint Review Board are investigating the incident.
Despite Cherry verbally abusing the Uber driver and exuding poor behavior, supporters insist that maybe he was just having a bad day.
Cherry is “a person of good character and an excellent detective,” said City Detectives’ Endowment Association President Michael J. Palladino. “He really should not be judged by one isolated incident.”
During the confrontation, Cherry swore at the driver, yelled incessantly, and slightly mocked his accent before asking the driver how long he’d been in the country.
Did Cherry pose an immediate physical threat to the driver? Probably not. But, Cherry was out of line and completely overreacted to a supposed traffic violation. The Uber passengers insist that it was Cherry who violated traffic laws by not using his blinker while trying to park. No one was killed or hurt, but Cherry’s actions were uncalled for and need to be investigated.
