NYPD Cops Investigated in East Village Rape Accusation

The NYPD has stripped two police officers of their badges and guns and put on modified duty as they investigate an accusation that a police officer raped an East Village resident. The Daily News reports, "The officer and his partner came to the woman after a cab driver called 911 on Dec. 7, telling cops she had vomited in his car and couldn't find cab fare." The officers apparently escorted the woman home.

Surveillance videos from the apartment building reportedly show "the two cops helping the drunken woman inside and returning to the building a second time more than a half hour later." The Post reports that sources say, "The older of the two cops allegedly assaulted the woman, raping her while his partner stood by." The victim contacted the Manhattan DA's office the next day.

Both papers say that when the cops' lockers were searched, heroin was found (the News: "The officer accused of rape told colleagues he had forgotten to voucher the drugs after confiscating them in a separate case"); the Post adds that "personal information of other women in the locker of the older cop." The two cops were negative when tested for drugs. One of their lawyers told the Post, "The fact that there have been no arrests makes it obvious that the prosecutors have some questions about the veracity of the complainant's allegations," but a police source said, "It looks pretty bad for the cops. It's not good for us. It's going to make all of our jobs tougher."