NYPD officer faces hate crime charges after prosecutors say he beat a motorist 'until he lost consciousness' while hurling anti-Muslim slurs

• Riggs Kwong faces charges including assault as a hate crime and menacing as a hate crime.
• The off-duty NYPD officer hurled anti-Muslim slurs and pummelled a ride-share driver on January 16, prosecutors said.

A New York City police officer was arraigned on hate crime charges on Monday, after prosecutors say he went on an anti-Muslim tirade during a traffic dispute with another driver.

Riggs Kwong, 50, appeared before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Raymond Rodriguez on Monday, as he was arraigned on several charges including third-degree assault as a hate crime and third-degree menacing as a hate crime.

Kwong pleaded not guilty to the charges, and was released without bail until his next hearing in March, according to a press release from the Brooklyn District Attorney's office.

The charges stem from a January 16 incident in the Kensington neighborhood of Brooklyn, when the victim cut Kwong off as he was trying to turn onto a service road, according to the DA's press release.

Kwong, an officer with the NYPD's 70th Precinct, who was off duty at the time, proceeded to record himself yelling racial slurs at the victim, according to the release.

The victim, who is not identified in the press release, was identified by the New York Daily News as 32-year-old Abdul Motalab, who drives for Uber and Lyft, but was also not working at the time.

According to the press release, Kwong called Motalab in the video a "terrorist" who is "terrorizing me."

"You're upset because I didn't let you make a U-turn, Mr. Mohammed…Al Qaeda, terrorist, ISIS," Kwong said.

Motalab got out of his vehicle to take a picture of Kwong's license plate, as Kwong continued to hurl anti-Muslim slurs at him. But then he returned to his car, the release said.

Motalab got out of his car a second time, and proceeded to hit the hood of Kwong's car, according to the press release.

At that point Kwong got out of the car, and Motalab spit in Kwong's face. Kwong then spit in Motalab's face, and starting punching Motalab, who prosecutors said didn't fight back.

Kwong "allegedly punched the victim several times, causing him to fall to the ground and continued to punch him and use anti-Muslim language. The victim stood up and the defendant allegedly punched him again, causing him to fall to the ground and lose consciousness," the DA's press release states.

According to prosecutors, Kwong called 911 and falsely stated that Motalab threw the first punch, and told officers the same story when they responded to the scene.

The Daily News reported that six people called 911 during the incident, all reporting that Kwong started the fight.

Insider was not able to reach either Kwong or Motalab for comment on Wednesday.

Motalab was charged with driving while intoxicated in connection to the incident, after admitting to officers that he had two or three beers that day and he registered a blood-alcohol content nearly twice the legal limit, police sources told the Daily News. Motalab has pleaded not guilty to the charge, according to the Daily News.

When reached for comment on Wednesday, an NYPD spokesperson refused to comment, citing a funeral that was taking place for a fallen officer.

According to the Daily News, Kwong, an 18-year veteran of the force, was immediately suspended after the incident.