NYPD cop with record of ignoring rules quits over city’s COVID vaccine mandate
By
Tina Moore and
Craig McCarthy
October 28, 2021 6:32pm
Updated
MORE ON:NYPD
“Tomorrow, I’m leaving the job,” Officer Risel Martinez, a nine-year member of the NYPD who worked in the 73rd Precinct but most recently in Community Affairs, begins in the eight-minute clip posted online Wednesday.
“I’m done being part of this whole f–king charade. I’m done being part of the whole f–king illusion. I’m done being part of the whole f–king manipulation and the abuse that the city and the corrupt politicians have been doing,” he rails.
Martinez, 30, didn’t explicitly mention the controversial vaccine mandate — which forces all city workers, including members of the NYPD and FDNY to get at least one jab or else be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday — in the Instagram video.
But he repeatedly used the words “choice” and “ultimatum,” and added the hashtags #donotcomplynyc and #freedom to a caption in which he wrote, “I am taking my piece off the board.”
“I’m done f–king dancing. I’m not a dancing f–king monkey. I’m a human f–king being. And I would like to be treated as such,” he said.
Officer Risel Martinez is a nine-year member of the NYPD.Courtesy of @dayslayerhimself
Martinez said he submitted his paperwork to retire Thursday — though The Post has not been able to independently confirm that.
He said he became a cop to “help people,” but, added, “now, it just seems like you can’t do the job” without elaborating.
NYPD records show the soon-to-be-ex-cop was disciplined in 2017 over an unjustified amount of force during an arrest without reasonable cause. He was docked 30 days of vacation time in that case.
Martinez also faced 20 separate allegations of wrongdoing reported to NYPD watchdog the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which sustained 10 charges against him for the use of a chokehold, a retaliatory arrest and an unlawful search and frisk in three complaints, online records show.
Asked about the charges, Martinez said it wasn’t unusual for an active cop to get CCRB complaints. He said the disciplinary history played no role in his decision to leave the NYPD.
“It has nothing to do with that at all,” he said. “That was all taken care of a long time ago.”
Martinez was in the news earlier this year when the mother of his two children, Yanyah Milutinović, went viral for weight-lifting while heavily pregnant.
The NYPD appeared to be readying itself Thursday for a crush of retirements due to the looming COVID-19 mandate.
Additional reporting by Bruce Golding
By
Tina Moore and
Craig McCarthy
October 28, 2021 6:32pm
Updated
MORE ON:NYPD
- Man killed by hit and run driver in NYC
- Suspect busted for knifepoint robbery in Midtown subway
- Faster than a pizza delivery: Cops clearing illegal bike lane parking complaints with curiously fast speed
- Letters to the Editor — Oct. 29, 2021
“Tomorrow, I’m leaving the job,” Officer Risel Martinez, a nine-year member of the NYPD who worked in the 73rd Precinct but most recently in Community Affairs, begins in the eight-minute clip posted online Wednesday.
“I’m done being part of this whole f–king charade. I’m done being part of the whole f–king illusion. I’m done being part of the whole f–king manipulation and the abuse that the city and the corrupt politicians have been doing,” he rails.
Martinez, 30, didn’t explicitly mention the controversial vaccine mandate — which forces all city workers, including members of the NYPD and FDNY to get at least one jab or else be placed on unpaid leave starting Monday — in the Instagram video.
But he repeatedly used the words “choice” and “ultimatum,” and added the hashtags #donotcomplynyc and #freedom to a caption in which he wrote, “I am taking my piece off the board.”
“I’m done f–king dancing. I’m not a dancing f–king monkey. I’m a human f–king being. And I would like to be treated as such,” he said.
Officer Risel Martinez is a nine-year member of the NYPD.Courtesy of @dayslayerhimselfMartinez said he submitted his paperwork to retire Thursday — though The Post has not been able to independently confirm that.
He said he became a cop to “help people,” but, added, “now, it just seems like you can’t do the job” without elaborating.
NYPD records show the soon-to-be-ex-cop was disciplined in 2017 over an unjustified amount of force during an arrest without reasonable cause. He was docked 30 days of vacation time in that case.
Martinez also faced 20 separate allegations of wrongdoing reported to NYPD watchdog the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which sustained 10 charges against him for the use of a chokehold, a retaliatory arrest and an unlawful search and frisk in three complaints, online records show.
Asked about the charges, Martinez said it wasn’t unusual for an active cop to get CCRB complaints. He said the disciplinary history played no role in his decision to leave the NYPD.
“It has nothing to do with that at all,” he said. “That was all taken care of a long time ago.”
Martinez was in the news earlier this year when the mother of his two children, Yanyah Milutinović, went viral for weight-lifting while heavily pregnant.
The NYPD appeared to be readying itself Thursday for a crush of retirements due to the looming COVID-19 mandate.
Additional reporting by Bruce Golding
