Transit Cop Pistol Whipped Man He Rear-Ended, Brooklyn DA Says

MIDWOOD, BROOKLYN — An NYPD transit cop used his gun and handcuffs to beat up a driver he had just rear-ended on New Year’s Day, according to prosecutors.

Michael Baror, 23, was driving his personal Jeep Cherokee — which he had illegally fitted with lights and sirens — when he smashed into another car on Avenue N and Bedford Avenue at about 10:30 p.m., prosecutors said.

Baror jumped out of his SUV, pulled out his weapon and pistol-whipped the 29-year-old driver, then took out handcuffs and used them to hit the driver in the face, prosecutors said.

When the Brooklyn transit cop jumped back into his Jeep and sped away, the 29-year-old chased him as his girlfriend, who sat in the passenger’s seat, called 911, said prosecutors.

Both driver ran through several red lights before the 29-year-old crashed his car into Baror’s Jeep, prosecutors said.

Baror fled before his fellow officers arrived minutes later, and proceeded to remove the illegal lights from his car and shave his head and beard, said prosecutors.

Changing his appearance — and failing to report the incident to police — did not stop investigators from arresting Baror the next day, prosecutors said.

The 29-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital where he got stitches around his mouth, prosecutors said.

Baror was arraigned on an 11-count indictment — with charges that include assault, leaving the scene, reckless driving and criminal possession of a weapon — in Brooklyn Criminal Court on Wednesday, prosecutors said.

The transit officer is expected to return to court on Aug. 8 and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top count, according to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office.

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