Officer Michael Doherty allegedly attacked two men and yelled racial obscenities at them
When police arrived at the scene of an off-duty Boston cop beating an Hispanic man while a Black citizen tried to stop the assault, the officers went after the victim and the good Samaritan—and the white assailant got away.
While shocking, this kind of predetermined judgment of guilt of Black and Hispanic people by police is not unusual. It fortifies why Black people and others are protesting around the country.
What is bizarre about this story is that Michael Doherty, according to the victim, was unprovoked before going on a racist rampage, The Boston Globe reported.
Doherty called the ride-sharing service Uber, and when it arrived driven by the Hispanic man, he gave an address. Upon arrival, the 16-year veteran police office claimed they had arrived at the wrong address and reportedly yelled, “What? You think I’m stupid, you f*cking sp*c?”
The police report says that Doherty, 40, first demanded the man to continue driving and then began assaulting him, finally forcing the operator out of the vehicle.
Doherty then began chasing the driver around the vehicle. Scared, the driver reportedly flagged down an African-American motorist who was passing by for help. When the Black man tried to reason with Doherty, he reportedly yelled, “What do you want, you f*cking n*gger?” and then attacked the Black man.
As the men scuffled, with Doherty pounding the Hispanic driver as he lay on the ground and the Black man reportedly trying to pry the law enforcer away, a police cruiser approached the melee. When Doherty saw the flashing lights, he reportedly stopped assaulting the driver and ran from the scene, the police report states.
This is when the two officers centered their attention on the men of color while Doherty fled. After the men were able to convince the officers they were not assaulting anyone, the police were able to track down Doherty at his home, where he was arrested, charged with assault, battery and using a motor vehicle without authority. He was taken into custody and denied all charges against him.
The Uber company reportedly has permanently banned Doherty from using its service. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday at a South Boston District Court.
