Lieutenant in NYC mailman arrest stripped of badge and gun
NEW YORK -- A New York City police lieutenant who was among a group of officers accused of handcuffing a postal worker while he delivered packages on his route in Brooklyn has been placed on modified duty, according to a police department spokeswoman.
Cellphone video captured Luis Machado and three other plainclothes NYPD officers approaching 27-year-old Glenn Grays, a postal worker who was in the middle of his shift on St. Patrick's Day. Grays said in interviews that he had shouted at the men, who were in an unmarked car, after the vehicle nearly ran him over.
The officers can be seen on video surrounding Grays, who was at the front door of a building, with a package in hand.
One of the officers demands identification.
"My ID right there on the side of the truck," Grays is heard saying in the video.
"Let's go get your ID," an officer says.
"I'm not going nowhere. I'm delivering my postal route," Grays responds.
The video then shows the officers telling Grays to "stop resisting" even though he does not appear to resist.
"I'm not resisting," Grays can be heard saying. He is then handcuffed and put in the unmarked patrol car, his mail truck left unattended.
The NYPD confirmed that all of the officers involved have been removed from their normal posts while the incident is investigated.
Machado has been stripped of his gun and badge, according to the department.
"He's basically on administrative duty until they're done investigating it," a spokeswoman said Friday.
Louis Turco, president of the New York City Lieutenants Benevolent Association said in a phone call with CBS News on Friday that the video is "just a snapshot."
"What we're going to do is wait for the facts to come out and then we're going to vigorously defend our lieutenant," Turco said. He noted that Machado, 33, joined the police force more than 10 years ago, after serving in the Marines. The lieutenant, who immigrated to the U.S. from Ecuador at age 9, has never been disciplined before, according to Turco.
Grays was charged with disorderly conduct, a criminal summons. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn District Attorney's office told CBS News that he expects the summons court judge will take the video into consideration in determining whether to dismiss the charge.
Grays said in an interview with "CBS This Morning" that he wants the officers involved to receive disciplinary action. He said he's thankful the video was recorded.
"The only thing I think saved me is that it was on videotape," Grays said.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton had harsh words on Tuesday for the officers involved.
"Based on what I witnessed on that, the various videos I've reviewed now, I have strong concerns about the charge against (Grays)," Bratton said.
Bratton said the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau is investigating. He said the officers were members of a conditions unit and were supposed to work in uniform.
"Out of the investigation into that incident will be why were they in plainclothes, for what purpose, who authorized it," he said.