White NYPD officer threatened black woman in her home. Activists want him fired.

A white officer with the New York Police Department who was sentenced last month for breaking into a black woman’s home and threatening her should be fired, said activists who gathered in Lower Manhattan on New Year’s Day.

Michael J. Reynolds, 26, is on modified-duty status with the NYPD and subject to investigation after pleading no contest to multiple counts of assault with fear of bodily injury and aggravated criminal trespass after he barged into a woman’s home in Tennessee, according to records from the criminal court in Davidson County, Tennessee.

Reynolds was in Tennessee with two other police officers, who have not been identified, in July 2018 for a bachelor party.

New York Police Department Officer Michael J. Reynolds was sentenced to 15 days in jail and probation after making a racist threat against a black woman in Nashville in 2018.Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Reynolds forced his way into the home — next to the Airbnb he and several other men, including the two other officers, had rented — where Conese Halliburton lived with her children. He can be heard on surveillance video threatening Halliburton, saying he’d “break every f—— bone in your f—— neck,” and using racial slurs. Reynolds left only after Halliburton said police were nearby, according to court documents.

Reynolds said in court that he did not remember what he had said.

During his sentencing, he said he didn’t have any intention of getting as drunk as he did the night he broke into Halliburton’s home, court transcripts show.

“I’m truly sorry for everything that has happened to you and your family within the last year and a half and for everything to come in the future. It was honestly an accident. I had no intention of getting that intoxicated that night. If I could take it back, I definitely would have never came to that bachelor party,” he said, according to court records.

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In court transcripts, Judge Mark J. Fishburn excoriated Reynolds for his behavior. He ultimately sentenced him to 15 days in jail and court fees totaling more than $1,000 for the break-in. Reynolds will also be on unsupervised probation for nearly three years.

“Michael Reynolds is a violent and dangerous racist who has no business carrying either a badge or a gun. Ms. Halliburton wants the NYPD to fire him immediately so that he can’t hurt anyone else, and we are all frankly dumbfounded that that has not happened already,” Daniel Horwitz, Halliburton’s attorney, said in an email to NBC News on Wednesday.

Horwitz added that his client is encouraged that “the process to terminate Officer Reynolds is now finally underway, and we look forward to the conclusion of that process and any investigation that New York City’s Civilian Complaint Review Board undertakes regarding this matter.”

Since news of the attack broke, more than 11,700 people have signed a petition advocating to have Reynolds fired.

On Wednesday, a group of protesters and activists gathered to demand that he be fired from the force.

“We are still in the fight because injustice persists. As long as injustice persists the people must be equally persistent,” activist Tamika Mallory said during a press conference.

Civil rights activist Rev. Kirsten John Foy said that he believed Reynolds should face domestic terrorism charges for his attack on Halliburton.

“We see no charges related to domestic terrorism. He broke into their home while they were in bed. Threatened them. Held them captive in their own bed,” Foy said. “Our presence here today is to demand answers from the NYPD about why Michael Reynolds is still employed as an NYPD officer.”

Foy said the press conference was held on New Year’s Day to set a tone of accountability for the upcoming year.

The New York City Police Department declined to provide NBC News with a statement on the record when contacted for comment. Reynolds’ attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Addressing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, Foy added: “You have an opportunity to start the year off right. To make a declaration that New York City police officers are not allowed to break into homes, to engage in hate crimes, to engage in felonious acts.”

Rev. Johnnie Green said he hadn’t anticipated having to challenge the city of New York and its mayor to “simply do the right thing” on the first day of the new year. He said the group of activists were not anti-police, but simply wanted accountability.

“To be pro-people, pro-community does not equal anti-police. We all need the police. We all know the role that the police play … I think it has been stated already the unacceptable behavior of Mike Reynolds and the two unnamed officers,” Green said. “I think their behavior and actions are domestic terrorism.”

Horwitz, Halliburton’s attorney, said his client has been grateful for the activists and supporters who have called for Reynolds’ firing.

“Ms. Halliburton deeply appreciates the outpouring of support that she has received from people across the country who agree that Michael Reynolds needs to be fired and should no longer be able to work as a police officer,” Horwitz said.

source: nbcnews.com