A police officer in New York has been suspended without pay after he was seen in a video using the loudspeaker from one of the department's patrol SUV's in violation of a policy against endorsing political candidates while on duty, NYPD officials said.
It is unclear what started the verbal altercation between the officer and the pedestrian who recorded the video.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea responded to the officer his behavior on Twitter, calling his actions "one hundred percent unacceptable."
"Law Enforcement must remain apolitical, reassuring the public that we will enforce the law fairly and without prejudice regardless of anyone’s political beliefs," the commissioner said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio also addressed the incident, promising a swift response, noting that the officer his behavior will not be tolerated.
De Blasio also said last week that he didn’t think New York City police officers would let their personal political views bleed into their professional responsibilities.
“You’re going to have police officers that have views across the spectrum, but I also think we’ve seen overwhelmingly officers leave their politics at home and they go and do what has to be done to keep people safe and to respect peaceful protest,” de Blasio said at a news briefing last Tuesday, The Associated Press reported.
“Any officer who can’t or won’t do that we have to discipline and we have to address, but I don’t get an indication that that is a widespread challenge.”