A gay couple and their friend were out in Manhattan early Wednesday morning when they say their Uber driver hurled homophobic slurs their way and dragged one of them through the East Village for a quarter of a block — and cops are said to have made matters worse.
Taray Carey and Alex Majkowski, who were recently married, initially drew the ire of their driver when they leaned in for a hug, according to their Facebook post.
“Are you fags?” the driver asked, according to NBC News. “Are you faggots?”
The driver, who the couple said is Russian, continued his verbal onslaught, telling them that they would be beheaded in his home country.
The couple’s friend exited the car at the next red light, and Carey said he followed behind him. However, the driver sped off before Majkowski could safely exit the vehicle, and he suffered visible gashes on his knee and hand and bruising near his hip.
“We called the police from the 9th precinct, and they did nothing but patronize us,” Carey said in a Facebook post.
The couple told NBC New York that the police told them they “deserved” it and refused to investigate the case as a hate crime.
The NYPD strongly denied allegations that police officers mistreated the couple, citing body camera footage. They claimed that Carey appeared “drunk and belligerent” and insulted an officer.
“At no time did any of the officers mock the victim, tell him that he probably deserved it, or laugh at him,” Lieutenant John Grimpel told Gay City News.
The NYPD confirmed that the case is not being investigated as a hate crime. Instead, a complaint was filed against the driver for leaving the scene of an accident with an injury, and an investigation is ongoing.
Uber announced the driver was removed from the app.
Carey did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
