Off-Duty NYPD Officer Dressed in Traditional Muslim Garb, Hijab Subject to 'Biased Threats'

BAY RIDGE, BROOKLYN — An off-duty NYPD officer dressed in traditional Muslim garb and wearing a hijab was subjected to biased verbal threats when she intervened in a dispute Saturday, sources said.

The NYPD responded to a call of threats to an off-duty officer in Bay Ridge just before 6 p.m. Saturday. The threats were verbal.

The off-duty officer intervened in a dispute when one of the individuals involved made comments toward her that were biased in nature, sources said. At least one of the comments made by the individual, who later fled the scene, was directed at physically hurting the officer.

Sources say the officer is OK.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, the officer had dropped off her 16-year-old son on Ridge Boulevard and 67th Street. She parked her car and returned to the scene to find her son being shoved by a white man in his 30s.

The report in the News says the man made biased comments toward the officer when she approached him. Police are actively looking for the man.

The bias act is the latest in a string of such occurrences that have taken place in New York and across the country since Election Day. On Wednesday, an 18-year-old Muslim woman was attacked by three men in their 20s who shouted "Donald Trump!" and tried to remove her hijab, or headscarf.

Other hate acts have included racist graffiti that has popped up in playgrounds, schools and subway stations.

The Council of American Islamic Relations issued the following statement on the attack against the off-duty NYPD officer:

“While Mayor de Blasio and Governor Cuomo both have publicly stated that hate has no place in New York, the number of bias-related attacks continues to climb. President-elect Trump must forcefully and repeatedly address the ugly hatred growing rampant through-out our nation. His rhetoric encouraged hate, racism and xenophobia, and innocent people are being assaulted across our country as a result,” CAIR-NY Executive Director Afaf Nasher, said in the statement.

Image via Google Street View