Officer(s) Involved: Probationary Police Officers Justin McMillan, 27, and Justin Colon, 24
Synopsis: Two rookie NYPD cops have been arrested for groping and robbing a prostitute inside a Queens brothel they had been assigned to investigate, authorities said today.
The officers were arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on an eight-count indictment charging them with burglary, forcible touching, petty larceny and official misconduct.
The incident happened last July 19 when the officers, rookies on foot patrol in the 115th Precinct, responded to a 311 complaint about prostitution at a residential building on 89th St. in Jackson Heights.
The officers turned on their body-worn cameras then shut them off after indicating they didn’t see anything illegal, Assistant District Attorney Christine Oliveri said in court.
After exiting the building, the pair lingered for a bit, then allegedly approached a woman exiting the building and stole her keys. That woman ran off and McMillan and Colon also left, only to return eight hours later, still in uniform, Oliveri noted, and with their cameras still off.
The officers allegedly used the key to get into the brothel, scaring off a john, then focusing on the woman he had hired for sex. “They shut the lights off, went in with their flashlights on in the dark, took money from her and…McMillan groped her breast and her buttocks.” Oliveri said.
The woman ran off and called 911, Katz said, leading to an NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau investigation.
Outcome: Both officers were previously stripped of their guns and shields and assigned to desk duty monitoring video feeds at a Bronx Housing Bureau command last August as authorities continued to investigate.
As of the time of publication, both officers had surrendered and were suspended from the force without pay. Both officers were released without bail. According to the respective lawyers representing the pair, both officers deny any wrongdoing and intend to fight all charges.
