Michael Reynolds, NYPD Officer, Resigns After Alleged Drunken Racist Tirade Against Black Tennessee Family
A New York City police officer who allegedly went on a racist tirade against an African American family in Tennessee, and was sentenced to serve time behind bars for it, has resigned from his job, CBS News reports.
Michael Reynolds, 26, was on vacation in Nashville in July 2018, and staying at an AirBnB. At about 2:30 in the morning on July 9, an intoxicated Reynolds allegedly broke into the home of Conese Halliburton, thinking it was his rental.
As The Tennessean reported at the time, Halliburton and her four sons, ages 20, 17, 11, and 8, were in the home with her. She says that her 17-year-old son woke up when he heard the dogs barking. The young man looked out the window and saw a man they didn’t know, reportedly identified as Reynolds, approaching the door. He then allegedly made his way inside while someone in the home called 911.
A neighbor’s surveillance camera caught part of the incident, in which the alleged intruder could be heard saying, “Try to shoot me, and I’ll break every f*cking bone in your f*cking neck,” before calling them “f*cking n**gers.”
“If my sons would have fought him, he’s already properly trained to take down people,” Halliburton said of the incident.
Reynolds left the home when he was told police were on the way. He would later say that he was drunk at the time and had no memory of the incident.
#BREAKING: NYPD confirms Officer Michael Reynolds has resigned from the department "effective immediately." Back in 2018, a Nashville woman says Reynolds kicked down the door of her home in 12 South, yelled racial slurs & threatened her family. @WKRN pic.twitter.com/wDnicdKpVY
— Josh Breslow (@JoshBreslowTV) January 2, 2020
Reynolds later pleaded No Contest to the charges, and on December 6, he was sentenced to 15 days in jail and three years’ probation.
In Tennessee, residents were outraged not only at the sentence, but also at the fact that Reynolds, at the time, still had his job. An online petition calling for his firing gathered over 12,000 signatures.
Back in New York, Reynolds, who had been on “modified duty,” was told by his superiors on December 30 that he was to report to police headquarters on January 2 for the commencement of an official disciplinary process. Instead, Reynolds tendered his resignation.
The NYPD’s Acting Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Devora Kaye said in a statement that Reynolds’ resignation is effective immediately.
“He will receive no pension or health benefits, nor will he be allowed to carry a firearm,” the statement reads.
Further, the statement distances Reynolds’ actions from the NYPD.
“His actions are wholly inconsistent with the values and standards the New York City Police Department expects and demands of its officers,” it reads.
