Black Off-Duty Cop Claims White Cops Assaulted Him

Sgt. Reginald McReynolds says he was racially profiled by these two NYPD officers, seen in a photo taken by his girlfriend.

Sgt. Reginald McReynolds, a 19 year veteran of the NYPD, was returning to his girlfriend's Bronx apartment with their Chinese food one night at the end of October when he was stopped by a rookie cop and his partner. Officers Kyle Bach and Joseph Azevedo, who are white, were responding to a domestic dispute call in the building. The perp was described as in his late 20s and weighing about 150 pounds; McReynolds is a 42-year-old black man weighing in at 275 pounds. Nevertheless, McReynolds says Bach "came right up in my face and said, 'What fucking apartment are you going to?'" It's no surprise that the ensuing exchange wasn't all that courteous, professional, or respectful.

McReynolds pointed to his girlfriend's door, but Bach allegedly threatened to arrest him for criminal trespass. "He took out his penlight and shined it right in my eyes blinding me," McReynolds tells the Daily News. "I let him know I'm on the job and was looking for my wallet and he struck me in the neck with his [baton]...[Bach] said to me, 'I'm gonna take your pension today.'...I was minding my business. I can think of no other reason for being stopped but my skin color." (Also in October, it was reported that a fight broke out between plainclothes black detectives and the white officers who allegedly profiled them in Gravesend.)

McReynolds was handcuffed and detained for about 20 minutes, while his girlfriend snapped photos with her cell phone. According to reports obtained by the News, McReynolds is accused of "stonewalling" the cops, pushing Azevedo and telling his girlfriend to say he was assaulted. But his lawyer insists, "The cops' story is an afterthought to justify their unconstitutional stop." And McReynolds is just shocked that a couple of cops could treat a black man so disrespectfully: "This incident has opened my eyes."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on December 30, 2009 10:30 AM

Comments [rss]

pgnyc

those cops are a disgrace to the nypd so much for cpr they are out of control

ilovejapgirls

it's all about lawsuit money

yytttt

I am disappointed they didn't stick anything in his ass. That would have been way funnier... "do unto others" and all...

LB

Your a dumb ass ! None of your comment was funny , Would you like someone to shove something up your ass ? I think you may be into that sort of thing .

yytttt

mine was funnier than yours. what's not funny about a cop stuffing things into the ass of another cop cause he doesn't believe the guy is a cop? the movie based on it will have leslie neilson in it, maybe eddie murphy too.

tnuc

If this is the worst picture they have, then someone is playing the race card for some extra money. Why didn't the "black" guy identify himself sooner. How is he in cuffs so soon? There is more to this story folks.

PS The two whites cops are racially profiling in an all black neighborhood.

Spirit of 76

Why didn't the "black" guy identify himself sooner.

"I let him know I'm on the job and was looking for my wallet and he struck me in the neck with his [baton]...[Bach] said to me, 'I'm gonna take your pension today.' " Sounds to me like he was trying. But if you think it's so easy, read the story about Chief Douglas Zeigler from last year. He had his badge around his neck and identified himself as one of NYPD's top brass and the cops still didn't believe him.

LibHater

1 - I don't see chinese food.

2 - This happened over 2 months ago, why so long to get this to the papers.

3 - No one here knows what the description could be since they weren't there and the radio transmissions aren't in the paper.

Everyone here is doing what they always say they're against, "A cop said this so it has to be true." Seems like you're all going against what you are normally criticizing. Doesn't seem like the cops in this picture are doing much either. Usually people take pictures during a struggle or some type of brutality. Seems like a guy trying to get an extra pay day before his pension.

ribaldry

Make no mistake, the local sheriff is the one who makes the laws YOU live by in your town. The Constitution is just a piece of paper.

dgeee

A cop harassed by other cops? Excellent, now he knows how we feel.

Guest

i just hope that most people say that this has nothing to do with race. i just hate double standards.

NannyState

Next time, smile and wave at the nice officers.

Mordicai

No cop likes to be treated the way he treats everybody else! I mean, of course race played into it, duh, newsflash, but I like that he's MOSTLY appalled that they'd treat him like common trash, aka Not-A-Cop. Anyhow-- whenever I'm bummed at the state of race relations & police stupidity in New York I just think "hey, at least it ain't LA!"

JacqueMehoff

and this cop was named "mcReynolds" and they gave him no slack. sorry again black irish cop.

you lost in the dna lottery.

ANGRYGOD11

I hope someone asks the rookies why they think someone would abuse their domestic partners, go out for Chinese food pick-up and come right back.

Nyctini11

well with people like monserrate running around this city, that part wouldn't surprise me!

ANGRYGOD11

There's over 30,000 members of NYPD. Why assume Sgt. Reginald McReynolds was one of the bullies in blue who dished out abuse to civilians? He could have been one of the good guys or just have one of the many assignments with limited or no civilian contact.

However, that would interfere with some revenge fantasies.

Thomas

I find it strange the Gothamist left out the part about how the justification given to the officers' actions were that they were responding to a domestic violence call in the building.

This doesn't justify the over-the-top actions, but it gives something closer to insight into that side of the story.