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Off-Duty Cop Who Allegedly Raped Woman At Gunpoint Was Drunk
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 20, 2011
Modified Aug 20, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 20, 2011
Modified Aug 20, 2011
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Yesterday, a drunken off-duty cop was arrested and accused of raping a woman at gunpoint. Officer Michael Pena, 27, a three-year-veteran who works out of the 33rd Precinct, was charged with rape and immediately suspended without pay in the early morning rape of a teacher in Inwood on Friday. "You're coming with me," he told the woman, according to Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne. "She knew he had a gun. She saw it on his hip and later in his hand."
The 25-year-old teacher told police that she was headed to work around 6:15 a.m. Friday morning when she was approached by Pena, who asked her for directions to the 1 train. She said he reeked of alcohol (which authorities later confirmed), and demanded she take him to the train; when she refused, he put his arm around her and flashed his 9-mm. handgun at her. He then forced her behind a building on Park Terrace West a few blocks later where he assaulted her.
A neighbor told the News she heard the attack and called 911 twice in 10 minutes. "The first time I suspected it was not consensual. The second time because I saw a gun." Another neighbor told DNAInfo that he was sleeping in his apartment when loud noises woke him up, and went to confront the man, saying, “Dude, I live here.” The suspect responded by holding up his hand, and pleading, "just give me a minute." The neighbor also noticed the gun and badge, and called 911.
When police arrived, the victim warned them, "Be careful. He has a gun." The officers tackled Pena, who had his NYPD shield and ID card in his pocket. A police source told DNAInfo that Pena had an "unremarkable record" on the force. "He's not strange or weird; you never would have guessed this," another source told the Post.
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drunk
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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