2 NYPD officers accused of burglary, forcible touching while on duty in Queens
KEW GARDENS, Queens (WABC) -- Two NYPD officers assigned to cleaning up crime along Roosevelt Avenue are now facing charges themselves and appeared in court on Monday morning.
They are accused of stealing cash from a sex worker and fondling her inside an illegal brothel in Queens.
It all started after two probationary officers got a 311 call last July for a prostitution complaint.
Prosecutors say after they arrived on scene, body camera video captured them giving the all clear, and then they turned them off.
One of the officers then reportedly snatched the key to the alleged brothel from a sex worker only to return eight hours later, still in uniform with a gun and badge.
They allegedly removed a client inside then turned off the lights.
Officer Justin McMillan, 25, then allegedly took cash from a sex worker's purse and is accused of fondling her.
Officer Justin Colon, 24, is also charged with second degree burglary and forcible touching because he was present in uniform with gun and badge.
Both pleaded not guilty on Monday.
The alleged crime was reported when the incident happened in July and the officers have been on modified duty since that day. They have been under investigation by Internal Affairs since then and on Monday they were also suspended without pay.
The NYPD officers are due back in court in April and face up to 15 years in prison. They declined to comment as they left the courtroom.
"Wearing the uniform of a New York City Police Officer is one of the highest privileges in law enforcement, and the legitimacy of that work is based on the public's trust. So when that trust is broken, as it was in this case, the entire police department must answer for it," said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The NYPD had been flooding the neighborhood and shutting down brothels in an operation that lasted for months and ended in dozens of arrests. Police officials touted a drop in crime as a result of their efforts.
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