Cop Arrested In East Harlem For Threatening Fiancée

HARLEM, NY — An off-duty NYPD officer was arrested in East Harlem Monday for violating a judge's order to stay away from his fiancée, who had a protection order against him after he allegedly assaulted her in June, police said.

Henry Vidal, 45, was arrested around 5:36 p.m. Monday and charged with criminal contempt at the NYPD's 25th Precinct in East Harlem. Vidal was most recently assigned to Service Area 1, which serves housing developments in Southern Brooklyn, a police spokesperson said.

Vidal had previously been assigned to the 23rd Precinct, also in East Harlem, records show. He made more than $97,000 in 2018, the most recent year for which data is available.

According to the New York Post, Vidal is accused of following his 37-year-old fiancée to her sister's house, where he pulled out a gun and threatened to kill her.

In March, he was accused of pinning her on a bed, twisting her wrist and kicking her in the ankle during an argument at their Inwood home, the Post reported. Vidal, who was already on modified duty from another incident, was charged with assault and harassment and ordered to stay away from his fiancée, according to the Daily News.

In 2017, Vidal was suspended from the police force after he allowed a shoplifting suspect to escape from a squad car after being placed in handcuffs.

Vidal was also sued in federal court in 2015 by a Black man who alleged Vidal and a police sergeant had falsely arrested him in Harlem the previous year. The suit was dismissed in 2017, records show.

Vidal, who has been employed by the NYPD since at least 2003, has had two complaints filed against him, according to recently-released police misconduct records. The complaints, alleging discourtesy and excessive force for overly tight handcuffs, were filed on the same day in March 2005. Both complaints were closed without a finding.