NEW YORK (AP) — Two New York City police officers have been suspended after being charged with burglary and forcibly touching a sex worker while responding to a complaint about an illegal brothel, prosecutors said Monday.
Officers Justin McMillan and Justin Colon intentionally turned off their body cameras as they broke into a residential building, stole money and forcibly touched a woman while on duty last July, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
The patrol officers, who were still on probationary status after entering the police academy in 2023, had been responding to a report of prostitution inside the building.
Prosecutors say the two shut off their bodycams before approaching a woman leaving the building and taking a key to the residence from her.
They returned eight hours later, unlocked the door and found a woman having sex with a man, who immediately fled, according to Katz’s office.
McMillan then stole money from the woman’s purse and groped her.
The woman ran away and eventually called 911 with the help of others, prosecutors said. The officers, meanwhile, returned to their stationhouse without reporting the incidents.
McMillan, 27, of Long Island, and Colon, 24, of Queens, pleaded not guilty during their arraignment hearings Monday in Queens. They were released and are due back in court April 28, according to Katz’s office.
They each face one count of forcible touching and petit larceny, two counts of burglary, and four counts of official misconduct.
Lawyers for the two didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
The officers have been suspended without pay. They were placed on modified duty last August as the NYPD’s internal affairs bureau and Katz’s office investigated, according to police.
“We hold our officers to the highest standard of professionalism and integrity, and failing to meet that standard is disqualifying,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “Let me be perfectly clear: Any officer who violates their oath will be investigated, exposed, and held fully accountable. That standard will never change.”
