Sandy MaloneBronx, NY – The rookie New York Police Department (NYPD) officer captured on video giving her lieutenant a lap dance at the precinct’s holiday party posted a video apologizing but said she thinks it would have been received differently if she were a man (video below).
The now-infamous incident occurred on Dec. 16 at the NYPD 44th Precinct’s Christmas party at Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers, the Daily Mail reported.
NYPD Officer Vera Mekuli said in a video she posted to social media that everyone was just having a good time at the $75-per-person open-bar party when she pushed her boss, NYPD Lieutenant Nick McGarry, into a chair and gave him a lap dance on a dare, TMZ reported.
“Me, I’m the life of the party, when it comes down to it… there was a chair… me, I took on the dare and I grabbed the lieutenant…” Officer Mekuli explained in the video afterwards.
The night of the party, Officer Mekuli was wearing a very short miniskirt with a midriff-baring top and knee high black boots as she straddled Lt. McGarry on the chair.
The video showed the rookie officer grinding on her supervisor and wiggling her butt in his face before turning back to straddle him again.
Lt. McGarry placed his hands on Officer Mekuli’s bare thighs as she backed against him and then put his hands around her waist and onto her bare back when she turned to straddle him yet again.
The video showed that other officers watching had mixed reactions that ranged from amusement to shock and horror.
NYPD lieutenant placed on transit duty after his rookie underling cop gives him a lap dance at a holiday party pic.twitter.com/tHSmoVtBZ9
— 🥀_Imposter_🕸️ (@Imposter_Edits) December 20, 2021
Somebody at the party posted the video to social media and it was quickly brought to the attention of NYPD leadership, the Daily Mail reported.
Lt. McGarry was immediately transferred to Transit District 12 in the Bronx.
An NYPD source told the New York Post that the lieutenant “knows he f-ked up” but neither Lt. McGarry nor Officer Mekuli are facing any charges in connection with the inappropriate behavior because the police department doesn’t have any policies regarding fraternization between ranks.
Despite the lack of professional consequences for her actions, Officer Mekuli took to social media to apologize, TMZ reported.
“I do want to apologize to the lieutenant’s wife,” she said. “I am sorry, truly I am. And I really hope it didn’t cause too much damage in your marriage or in your personal life. I know it’s been rough, I’ve been seeing the articles and I’ve been seeing pictures of you guys all over the newspapers as well as mine, and it wasn’t meant to be like this – I really had no knowledge of your marriage.”
The officer was referencing an embarrassing encounter that occurred when Lt. McGarry’s wife, Melissa McGarry, lost her temper on reporters in front of their home in Orange County last week.
The New York Post reported that the lieutenant had to physically restrain Melissa from charging at a reporter and photographer as she screamed obscenities at them.
Officer Mekuli’s father blasted Lt. McGarry and said that married police official “should know better” than to behave that way with a woman who worked for him.
The angry father also said he planned to sue the lieutenant, the New York Post reported.
His daughter, however, seemed to take responsibility for the entire debacle in her video, TMZ reported.
“It was supposed to be for fun, s–ts and giggles, and I feel like I completely ruined I guess his picture as a lieutenant, as a boss,” Officer Mekuli said in the video. “I know it doesn’t look good on him at all. But I do apologize.”
The rookie officer said the whole thing snowballed quickly.
She said she hasn’t been into the precinct since the lap dance went public and expressed concern about not being taken seriously if people recognized her in uniform as the woman from the video.
Officer Mekuli said many of her fellow officers were supportive and that she had been allowed to work from home the week after the party; however, she also said that she felt judged by some and she didn’t think that was fair.
“I feel like I shouldn’t be judged for anything of that sort because of a lap dance that I did off duty and not in uniform,” she said in the video. “I feel like just because, mainly, I’m a female dressed the way I was, being a rookie, things were different.”
“Had I been a man doing it, I feel like it would have been more of a joking matter and it would have stayed in house versus go public the way it did with me,” the officer added.
Watch the officer’s explanation and apology here below:
Holly Matkin
