A suburban New York police detective has been charged with hate crimes after he allegedly threatened a Black cellphone service worker who was just doing his job.
John J. Murphy, a 15-year veteran with the Rockville Centre Police Department on Long Island, approached the 48-year-old subcontractor, who was checking the 5G signal in the Manorville neighborhood.
Murphy, who was off the clock, identified himself as a law enforcement officer and then allegedly asked the man, sitting in his SUV at the time, what he was doing in the neighborhood.
The subcontractor said he had a right to be there, police said, and attempted to show Murphy his ID, but the cop refused to look at it.
According to the criminal complaint filed after the Nov. 3 incident, Murphy went into a rage, telling the man, “Get out of here. We don’t want you or your kind in the neighborhood, n—-r!”
Court documents reveal Murphy then kicked the worker’s GMC Terrain, ripping off a light affixed to the top of the vehicle, breaking it into pieces and throwing what was left at the victim’s face.
“There is a video… and there is corroboration,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney told CBS News New York. “There is damage to the car and a light that was damaged as well.”
Murphy faces charges of criminal mischief as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.
“The victim here was just trying to do his job when the defendant allegedly harassed him and damaged his vehicle,” Tierney said in a statement.
“To make matters worse, the defendant is a sworn law enforcement officer, responsible for protecting the rights of citizens rather than violating them, as is alleged here,” he continued.
Murphy turned himself in Wednesday and pleaded not guilty at his first appearance hearing. He was released without bond and is due back in court on Dec. 3. The judge ordered him to stay away from the victim.
The Rockville Centre Police Department has suspended Murphy but offered no further comment, according to Newsday. He’s due back in court on Dec. 3. He declined to answer reporters’ questions after his hearing Wednesday.
Suffolk County has prosecuted 17 hate crimes and 68 hate incidents, said Suffolk Executive Ed Romaine.
“We’re not tolerant of people who do these type of things,” Romaine said. “I don’t care what your status is in life, and this gentleman happened to be a detective in another police department in Rockville Centre, but that doesn’t excuse hate. Hate has no place in Suffolk County, regardless, and we will pursue all these hate crimes to the fullest extent of the law because it has no place in Suffolk County.”
