Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Cop Denies Sexual Contact With Waitress But "Did Take Her Panties"
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 29, 2012
Modified Feb 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 29, 2012
Modified Feb 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The NYPD detective who is accused of questionable behavior with waitress at a Washington Heights restaurant—while on-duty—claims that he's innocent. At least that's according to a NY Post source, with information about what Detective Douglas Strong told his union lawyer.
The waitress claims that her boss at La Parilla gave her $200 to drink with the group because it was the detective's 49th birthday. She blacked out and claims she woke up to the owner sexually assaulting her. The Post, which says the detective is married, reports, "Strong told his union lawyer yesterday he went to La Parilla’s back room alone with the drunken waitress on Feb. 16 after she showed him and three other 33rd Precinct cops racy pictures of herself, the source said. 'She falls asleep and he covers her up with a blanket. He did not have sex with her. He did not have intercourse with her. Apparently, he did take her panties,' he told the lawyer from the Detectives’ Endowment Association, according to the source."
The source says, "When she got into bed, she started to take some of her clothes off." The source also claims that Strong told his lawyer that he had "three sodas and one glass of wine," making him "fit for duty" and that the waitress called him about her panties, "He just goes right to her and hands them off in a plastic bag."
The waitress told the Daily News, “The last thing I remember is [the detective] patting the bed and telling me to sit down next to him... He was trying to kiss me and I was trying to ward off his advances. I remember trying to slide away from him, bob and weave. He was like, ‘Come here, everything’s all right. I’m not gonna hurt you.’" Then she blacked out. A rape kit was conduced by the hospital, but the results are not in yet. When she contacted the detective for her underwear, he told her that they didn't have sex because she was incapacitated.
Tagged
la parilla
nypd cop
on-duty
panties
sexual assault
Washington Heights
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
In East Brooklyn, aging NYCHA homes get a $636M upgrade
The improvements to at the Reid & Park Rock developments come has the agency wrestles with a multibillion-dollar backlog in needed repairs.
By
Willow Higgins
Published Oct 26, 2026 at 6:30 a.m. ET
What NYers can expect as open enrollment for health insurance begins
Some consumers will face higher prices partly brought on by federal spending cuts.
By
Caroline Lewis
News
What NYers can expect as open enrollment for health insurance begins
Some consumers will face higher prices partly brought on by federal spending cuts.
By
Caroline Lewis
Why New Yorkers should care about bats beyond spooky season
By
Catalina Gonella
Serbians forced to wait hours to vote at NYC consulate as Balkan nation holds election
By
Jill Webb
and
Michael Sol Warren
Retired NYPD detective charged in George Washington Bridge killing out on $1M bail
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .