The NYPD detective accused of raping a waitress in the back of a Washington Heights restaurant allegedly returned the woman's underwear to her the day after the incident.
The night of February 16th, 4 NYPD detectives-- all of whom have since been stripped of their guns and badges-- showed up at the Parilla Steakhouse on Broadway and 186th street to celebrate one of the detectives' 49th birthday.
One of the restaurant's managers allegedly paid the waitress $200 to sit with and entertain the cops.
"They were drinking excessive amounts of wine," the waitress told The New York Daily News in an exclusive interview. “Before I even came to the table they must have polished off two bottles.”
The officers were on-duty, although one of their shifts ended during the revelry.
The waitress drank three glasses of wine and had a few shots before being coaxed into the back room by one of the detectives. Surveillance footage shows the detective was away from the table for 45 minutes. From The Daily News:
"The last thing I remember is him patting the bed and telling me to sit down next to him," said the woman whose name is being withheld by the Daily News.
"He was trying to kiss me and I was trying to ward off his advances."
"I remember trying to slide away from him, bob and weave," she added. “He was like, ‘Come here, everything’s all right. I’m not gonna hurt you.’”
The waitress then woke up, naked, at about 3AM to find the manager of the restaurant touching her inappropriately. She screamed and fled the scene.
The next morning she called the detective, who told her, "I have something of yours I need to return to you." It was her underwear.
Later that day the woman went to the hospital where she underwent a rape examination, the results of which are not yet ready.
NYPD Internal Affairs is investigating the incident and the detective maintains the two didn't have sex because the waitress was incapacitated. The detective's lawyer told The New York Times that he didn't believe that the waitress had yet accused the detective of "inappropriate sexual conduct" but confirmed that his conduct was being investigated.
If the rape accusations were to materialize in court, it would prove a sad trend for the NYPD. In May, two officers were acquitted of rape and sentenced for official misconduct after a woman in the Lower East Side alleged she was raped by the two cops in her apartment. And in August, another cop was arrested for allegedly raping a woman at gunpoint in Inwood.