NYC cop claims bosses retaliated after he reported liquor in captain’s automotive

It was a booze cruiser.

An NYPD sergeant in Inside Affairs claims he discovered a half-empty bottle of liquor in his captain’s automotive, however that when he reported it to his bosses it turned final name for his cop profession.

Michelangelo Hidalgo, 42, alleges in a brand new lawsuit that in July 2023, his boss, Capt. Genienne King, requested him to take her unmarked division car to the automotive wash.

Whereas he and one other sergeant drove there, they heard clinking coming from the again seat and seemed to seek out “bottles hitting one another” and “rolling round,” based on the swimsuit.

On the ground was a bottle of Angostura bitters, an 89-proof alcohol that could be a key ingredient in Previous Usual and Manhattan cocktails.

“It was open and already began,” Hidalgo, who joined the NYPD in 2005, advised The Publish. “There was a robust scent of liquor.”

Hidalgo stated his colleague demanded they report the booze discovery to Inside Affairs Bureau in case they had been planted there as a part of an “integrity check.”

Such undercover stings are employed to verify police workplaces are following the foundations.

Hidalgo and his captain had been “nice buddies,” working collectively in what’s generally known as Group 26, which investigates police misconduct, based on the September submitting.

Previous to the incident it was “rumored that King was an alcoholic,” the swimsuit alleges, including {that a} division cleaner “had beforehand commented that King could be handed out drunk in her workplace recurrently.”

King was questioned concerning the bottle by Inside Affairs and ultimately demoted to the Transit Bureau, based on the swimsuit.

After reporting the incident, Hidalgo stated King did a “full 180 on me.”

“She began to name me into her workplace to yell at me,” “stripped” his extra time, and did not submit Hidalgo for promotions, the swimsuit claims.

He was ultimately transferred to Inside Affair’s Group 41 beneath supervisor Lt. Gary Vanzanten in November.

“That’s when my second nightmare started,” Hidalgo stated.

He was watched like a hawk, abused and berated, the swimsuit claims.

He was even advised he wanted permission to make use of the lavatory, based on the swimsuit.

He was demoted again to patrol for speaking again to his boss on June 14.

“I’ve an amazing arrest report, greater than any common police officer,” stated Hidalgo, who additionally claimed to have excellent attendance for greater than a decade. “I used to go in even when I felt like I used to be dying, that’s how a lot I cherished coming to work — and these guys modified all that.”

His lawsuit names King, Vanzanten and IAB Chief Miguel A. Iglesias as defendants, and seeks unspecified damages.

Hidalgo continues to be a police officer and works within the Transit Bureau in Brooklyn.

Lawyer John Scola, who filed the swimsuit, stated “the NYPD has a troubling historical past of prioritizing retaliation over efficient policing and this case is one more instance.”

The NYPD declined to touch upon pending litigation.

King didn’t instantly return messages.

Further reporting by Georgia Worrell