Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty ImagesAn off-duty Boston police officer has been charged with assaulting an Uber driver, the Boston Globe reports.
Officer Michael Doherty, a 16-year police veteran, allegedly assaulted an Uber driver early Sunday morning.
In a police statement obtained by the Globe, an unnamed Uber driver told police early Sunday morning that a passenger, who was identified as Doherty later on, assaulted him. According to the police report, as the driver tried dropping Doherty off, Doherty accused him of driving to the wrong place and proceeded to use racial slurs against him.
The report states Doherty prompted the Uber driver to keep driving and then physically assaulted him. The driver got out of the car and Doherty chased him around the car. The Uber driver then started flagging down cars for help, at which point Doherty got into the front seat of the driver's car and drove away.
A passing car stopped to help the Uber driver, and the two men followed Doherty until Doherty stopped and got out of the car. Doherty allegedly walked toward the two men, reportedly used racial slurs against the man who stopped to help the driver. He then allegedly knocked down the Uber driver and assaulted him.
Doherty, 40, was arrested and charged with assault and battery and using a vehicle without authority, according to the Globe. He has been placed on paid administrative leave and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in South Boston District Court.
Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett provided the following statement to Business Insider: "Our thoughts are with our valued partner during his recovery and we are supporting him in any way we can during this time. We have a strict policy to remove any rider that exhibits aggressive or abusive behavior from the platform and we have permanently blocked this rider's access. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in their investigation."