LI police officer charged in hate crime incident: police

MANORVILLE, N.Y. — A Rockville Center police officer was arrested after intentionally damaging a man's vehicle in Manorville, which is considered a hate crime, police said.

According to Suffolk County police, 40-year-old John Murphy of Manorville was arrested at 5:52 a.m. Wednesday following the incident that occurred Nov. 3 at 7 p.m

At the time, a cell phone company subcontractor was working at a GMC lot at the corner of Sylvan Court and Weeks Avenue in Manorville when he was approached by a man who asked what the worker was doing in the area, police said.

Murphy, who identified himself as a police officer, refused to see the worker's identification, police said. Murphy then kicked the GMC, causing damage, ripped off the light attached to the top of the vehicle and threw it at the worker, who is Black, while using a racial slur, police said.

Murphy, a detective with the Rockville Center Police Department, was arrested and charged with two counts of fourth-degree criminal coercion, a hate crime and a felony; and second-degree aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor, police said.

Murphy will be arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Central Islip in November, police said.

“The victim here was just trying to do his job when the defendant allegedly harassed him and damaged his vehicle,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “To make matters worse, the defendant is a sworn law enforcement officer responsible for protecting the rights of citizens rather than violating them as alleged herein. I thank the Suffolk County Police Department Hate Crimes Unit for taking this crime seriously and prosecuting it.” The evidence, no matter where it led, will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.