tillsonburg/iStock(NEW YORK) — A New York City Police Department officer resigned on Thursday, more than a year after he was charged for allegedly breaking into a woman’s home, threatening her and yelling racial slurs.
Michael Reynolds was convicted on charges of assault and criminal trespassing in connection with the July 2018 incident in which a black woman accused him of kicking in her back door in the midst of a drunken rage.
Reynolds, who is white, was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years’ probation last month after pleading no contest to four misdemeanors, according to court records.
The victim, Conese Halliburton, in addition to civil rights activists, had called for his resignation.
More than 10,000 people signed an online petition calling for his firing in support of Halliburton. Reynolds, who was on vacation in Nashville at the time, testified that he and his friends had been drinking before the incident occurred. He could not remember how much he drank, but he said he entered Halliburton’s the home by mistake, thinking that it was his rental property, according to his court testimony.
“Ms. Halliburton appreciates the outpouring of support that she has received, and she is relieved that ex-officer Reynolds will never be able to terrorize anyone or abuse his authority as a law enforcement official ever again,” Daniel Horwitz, Halliburton’s attorney, said in a statement Thursday.
Halliburton, 42, testified last month that the episode had left her and her children, who witnessed the incident, traumatized.
“My kids want to move. They don’t want to be in that house anymore,” she said at the officer’s sentencing last month. “We don’t have peace. To know that you’ve been living somewhere all your life, and you don’t have that anymore, and where would you go, it’s not fair.”
“It’s not fair that somebody can laugh in your face and their friends can laugh about it like it’s a joke, and your life stops, and their life can keep on going,” she added. “And they’re supposed to keep a job, and you’re supposed to uphold the law.”
An attorney for Reynolds declined to comment when reached by ABC News.
Last week, the NYPD revealed that Reynolds had been placed on “modified duty” in light of the ongoing case. It announced the officer’s resignation, effective immediately, on Thursday.
“He will receive no pension or health benefits, nor will he be allowed to carry a firearm,” the NYPD said in a statement. “His actions are wholly inconsistent with the values and standards the New York City Police Department expects and demands of its officers.”
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