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Two NYPD rookies accused of stealing money and groping women while on duty, Queens DA says
By
Charles Lane
Published Mar 31, 2025
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
Charles Lane
Published Mar 31, 2025
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Two rookie NYPD officers were arrested for stealing from two women and groping one of them while in uniform in Jackson Heights, according to police and prosecutors.
Justin Colon, 24, and Justin McMillian, 25, were each indicted by a Queens grand jury on three counts of theft and one count of forcible touching, District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
“[They] are accused of using their authority to break into a building, steal money and forcibly touch a woman while on duty, with their body-worn cameras intentionally turned off so that their misdeeds would not be recorded,” she said.
According to Katz, McMillian and Colon were responding to a 311 call about prostitution in an apartment building on 89th Street in July. At the building, they turned off their body cameras before encountering a woman, throwing her purse to the ground and stealing a key, prosecutors alleged.
Officials said the pair returned eight hours later and used the key to enter an apartment, where they encountered another woman who, prosecutors said, was engaging in prostitution.
According to the indictment, McMillian then took cash from the woman’s purse and groped her breasts and buttocks.
Officials said both women fled from officers after they were robbed.
McMillian joined the NYPD in April 2023. Colon joined in July 2023. The two were placed on modified duty a month after the alleged incident and were suspended Monday morning, officials said.
“Wearing the uniform of a New York City Police Officer is one of the highest privileges in law enforcement,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “The legitimacy of that work is based on the public’s trust. So when that trust is broken, as it was in this case, the entire police department must answer for it.”
Police have stepped up quality of life enforcement in Jackson Heights since residents complained about flagrant prostitution. Some have linked the increased prostitution to the influx of migrants to the neighborhood.
A spokesperson for the police union said the pair deserve their day in court.
“The city has made enforcement of quality-of-life issues on Roosevelt Avenue a priority, and these police officers were out doing their job to support that effort,” said Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association. “They are entitled to due process and a careful examination of all the facts and evidence, not condemnation based on allegations alone.”
Tagged
queens
public safety
Charles Lane
Charles is a Day-of reporter focused on breaking news and enterprise. He’s very friendly and can be reached at [email protected], or more securely on whatsapp/signal 631-295-6715
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