In a cell phone video recorded by a passenger in the car, a man, identified as the police officer, can be seen and heard harassing and mocking the driver.
The video was posted on YouTube by Sanjay Seth, who described the incident saying, "In an unmarked car, the policeman was allegedly attempting to park without using his blinker at a green light. (His reverse lights weren’t on. Likely double parked without hazards on.) The Uber driver pulled around and gestured that he should use his blinker, casually and non-offensively, and kept driving us. The policeman aggressively pulls up behind us and this is what happens."
According to the video, the officer started off saying, "stop it with your mouth," as he mocked the driver’s accent.
"I don’t know what f**king planet you think you’re on right now," the officer added before slamming the car door and walking off.
The passengers then said, "Listen, it's not your fault. This guy's just a d***."
About 90 seconds later, the officer returned and screamed, "I don't care what you have to say! Do you understand that? People are allowed to park their cars on the side of the street without your interference, and then your opinion about what's going on."
Frustrated, the driver, named Humayun, says "Okay" as the officer started to speak.
"Are you gonna let me f**king finish?" the officer shouted. "Stop interrupting me!"
"How long have you been in this country?" he demanded. "I got news for you. And use this lesson. Remember this in the future. Don’t ever do that again. The only reason you’re not in handcuffs going to jail and getting summonses in the precinct is because I have things to do."
"It’s cos this isn’t important enough to me," he reiterated. "You’re not important enough."
Seth then took to Facebook and Twitter, tagging New York City officials, and saying "Our Uber driver, Humayun, was abused by a police officer today in New York. The unending rage, door slamming, throwing items into the car, threatening arrest without cause was bad enough — but the officer’s remarks at the end really took it to another level."
When called to inquire about the video, the NYPD initially told the Daily News "the department was unaware of the video." Later on, police said the video is under investigation by the Internal Affairs.
